The Times After That
by FireBlaze401
Summary: Sequel to "The First Time". A series of oneshots about Natsu and Gray's relationship after the events of "The First Time". Natray/Gratsu! Some may be rated M and if they are, there will be a warning at the top. No smut though, sorry! Prompt suggestions are closed!
1. That Time In Front Of the Guild

**Hello and welcome to The Times After That! This is a sequel to my Natray oneshot, The First Time. If you'd like, you can go check that out! I'll tell you all what I need to tell you at the end so for now, I hope you enjoy the first chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. All rights go to Hiro Mashima.**

 **Read and Review!**

* * *

That Time in Front of the Guild

"No, Gray. I'm not letting you go alone with her," Natsu argued as he crossed his arms stubbornly. Gray rolled his eyes. Why was his lover such a stubborn fool sometimes?

"Relax Natsu. We're only going to be away for a week, maybe even less." Even so, the Dragon Slayer was not convinced.

"I'm not leaving you alone with Juvia. You know she's all over you." Gray breathed out an exasperated sigh.

"Yes Natsu, I know. But you were the one who wanted to keep it a secret from the guild, and if you tag along with us it might make them suspicious."

"Then don't go!"

"I already said yes! Besides, I have no reason to say no!"

"Tell her that something came up!" Gray spluttered indignantly.

"You want me to _lie_ to Juvia?! Natsu, she's our friend!" Natsu huffed and angrily look away from Gray.

"Anyone who tries to take you away from me is no friend of mine," he muttered. Gray's eyes widened slowly in realization. No... it couldn't be. Could it?

"Natsu... are you by any chance... jealous?"

"…Well you never go on jobs alone with me…" A tinge of pink rivalling the colour of Natsu's own hair dusted the Dragon Slayer's cheeks. That gave Gray all the answer he needed. Laughing lightly, he pecked his lover on the cheek.

"I love _you_ , Natsu. Not Juvia. Don't worry ok? Juvia won't do anything and I sure as hell won't. I'll be back before you know it." When Gray's voice was so gentle and loving, Natsu couldn't help but dismiss his worries and listen to his raven haired lover.

"Ok... But she better not do anything!"

* * *

"Natsu? Where's Gray?" Lucy asked as she walked into the guild hall the next morning. The pink haired Dragon Slayer was slumped over a table, arms on the table and looking rather moody. Happy was sitting on the table next to his friend, happily eating a fish.

"He went with Juvia on a mission," the rosette responded petulantly. At this, Lucy squealed girlishly and Natsu grumpily pressed his palm to his ear in an effort to muffle the noise.

"Finally! It's taken those two ages to go out together! Ooh I can't wait to tell everyone else!" Natsu groaned. How he wanted to tell Lucy that Gray wasn't on a date with Juvia and that _he_ was the one that the raven was actually in love with! But no, that would reveal their secret relationship and Natsu didn't dare do that, especially with Gray not even here.

The steady sound of approaching footsteps brought Natsu out of his funk.

"What's going on? Did something happen?" Erza asked. The first thing she had seen when she had walked in the guild was Lucy seemingly bubbly with excitement. The blonde in question suddenly rushed forward.

"Erza! It's finally happened! Gray and Juvia finally went out together on a job! Alone!" Erza nodded in approval.

"It's about time those two got together." Natsu growled under his breath, wanting to just jump up and scream that Gray was _his_ damnit! Not Juvia's! Happy, however, came to his rescue.

"You know Lucy, just because they went on a mission together doesn't mean they're dating," the Exceed pointed out. In response, Lucy pinched the cat's cheeks as Happy moaned and complained. Natsu, however, smiled happily into his arms. He could always count on Happy to help him out. Although he was pretty sure it wasn't intended to help him, since even Happy didn't know that the two rivals were dating.

"Well regardless, Gajeel won the bet!" Cana announced, waving a mug of beer around. The Iron Dragon Slayer grinned as many other guild members grumbled and started handing him Jewels. Natsu cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"What bet?" he asked. Cana smiled cheekily.

"The bet for when those two would finally go out on a job together!"

And just like that, Natsu's jealousy and possessiveness both reared their ugly heads once more.

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he marched out of the guild, leaving the rest of Fairy Tail wondering what had upset their Salamander so much.

* * *

Natsu kicked a rock down the street as he made his way through the marketplace. He knew that he shouldn't be feeling jealous of the water mage and that he should trust in Gray's words but even so, he couldn't help it. He'd be damned if he let Juvia take Gray away from him! Still, Juvia was beautiful and strong. Natsu was pretty powerful himself, but he didn't have the hips or the figure of a woman. Natsu knew that he was the first man that Gray had ever shown interest in. What if on the mission Gray decided that he didn't love Natsu anymore?

The rosette shook his head furiously and continued briskly towards his house. He didn't feel like being out in public anymore. As he moved, he continued his train of thought. He couldn't let himself doubt Gray. The ice mage had said that he loved Natsu and until the day he died, Natsu would damn well believe in him.

* * *

"We're back!" Gray announced as he and Juvia stepped through the doors of the guild. The two had just returned from their mission and needless to say, the guild was overjoyed to have them back.

"Welcome back Gray, Juvia! How was the mission?" Mirajane asked. The bluenette enthusiastically began talking to the platinum blonde bartender about the details of their latest mission. Gray on the other hand, chose to join the rest of Team Natsu at the table they were currently situated at.

"Hey guys! Miss me?" he teased. Lucy grinned as Gray took a seat next to Natsu. She leaned forward across the table, arms propping her chin up.

"So Gray," she drawled. "How was the mission? Did anything interesting happen?" Gray raised an eyebrow.

"Like what? The mission was only to find a rare magical item and retrieve it. There's not much that could happen on a mission like that," he said. Lucy rolled her eyes at her teammate's fake obliviousness. Erza raised an eyebrow in question.

"Gray, you know what she's talking about." At this, the ice mage shook his head, utterly confused while Natsu's eyebrow twitched. He had been happy that Gray had returned but now the girls were starting to grate his nerves again. If this kept up, he would go insane.

"No, I really don't. What are you guys talking about?" Lucy facepalmed and this time, Erza followed suit, after removing her gauntlet of course.

"Did you and Juvia hook up?!" Lucy shouted, exasperated. Gray's deep blue eyes widened in surprise. He glanced around the guild. Everyone's attention was on him and of course, needless to say, Juvia's attention was focused on him as well. Gray sweatdropped. Alright, so Natsu did have some grounds to be jealous.

Nevertheless, Gray cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Umm… no, we didn't." The entire guild groaned collectively, save for one Dragon Slayer. Macao came up to him and slammed his hands down on the table.

"Come on Gray! You spend a whole week alone with a beautiful girl and you don't hook up?! Are you kidding me?!" he demanded. Wakaba was quick to back up his partner.

"You shouldn't wait too long, Gray. Lyon might come and snatch her away from you." Somewhere in the background, Elfman was roaring,

"That's not man!" Gray shuffled down his bench as far away as he could from the two men, awkwardly torn between telling them the truth and keeping Natsu happy. Speaking of which, Gray looked over to his secret lover to see how he was handling all of this.

What he saw made him gulp.

Natsu was smiling. Or at least that's what it looked like. Anyone who really looked would be able to tell that the smile was incredibly forced and that his eyebrow would twitch every so often, revealing how he _really_ felt about this whole situation. Gray began to sweat nervously. He was probably never going to hear the end of this when they got home.

* * *

Just when the whole guild was about to go out of control, Mirajane piped in with her piece.

"Oh my, this is getting fun. But maybe…Gray, do you already have a lover?" For a moment, the rambunctious guild went dead silent. A pin dropped in to the ground, and was actually heard. Then, all hell broke loose.

"What?! Is that true Gray?!" Lucy demanded. Gray abruptly stood and looked away from his blonde friend. He could not, however, hide from Cana, who was sitting on the table right next to him.

"Oh he's blushing! He definitely does!" she announced and raised her beer high into the air. Gray's blush deepened and he shouted at her indignantly. Cana however, was too drunk to care and slung her free arm around Gray's shoulder.

"Who is it, Gray? Is it someone from another guild? Is it a citizen of Magnolia? Or…" she paused dramatically as she grinned cheekily. "Is it someone from Fairy Tail?" Gray roughly removed himself from her grasp and Cana whooped. "It's someone here!" she cheered. Juvia turned to Gray, eyes teary as pools of water began to form at her feet.

"Gray-sama! Is it love rival?!" she demanded, pointing at Lucy. The celestial mage blushed and shook her head frantically.

"It's not me! Juvia don't flood the guild!" Gray backed away awkwardly from the two girls only to find himself face to face with Erza.

"So Gray," she started conversationally. Gray gulped and began to plan his escape.

"Y-Yes, Erza?" he asked, fearing what she might do to him.

"Who is it?" she all but demanded. "Is it Levy?" The petite bluenette blushed and shook her head as she shyly glanced over to Gajeel, who seemed to have gotten just the slightest bit grumpier.

"Is it Mira?" The bartender looked around innocently and pointed to herself. Then she laughed and shook her head, before continuing to watch the interrogation in front of her with interest.

It continued on and on, until every girl in Fairy Tail had denied being Gray's lover. Erza crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you _lying_ to me, Gray?" Hellfire seemed to rise up from behind the redhead and everyone looked on in fear. Gray frantically shook his head. He wouldn't be caught dead lying to Erza Scarlet.

* * *

Suddenly, a loud bang resounded in the guild. They all turned to the source of it, which was none other than Natsu slamming his hands down on the table, his pink bangs covering his eyes. Without saying a word, he marched over to where Gray and Erza stood. The rest of the guild watched in silence. No way…

"Natsu, what are you—mphf!" Gray started as he was pulled into a kiss. The guild's jaws dropped. Gray encircled his arms around Natsu's neck and Natsu buried his hands into Gray's soft raven locks as he pulled him closer. Gray hummed a content noise in his throat as Natsu continued the kiss possessively. At the display, more than a couple of people blushed and looked away. Cana however, cheered and downed more beer. Natsu didn't care though. He was through with this guessing game and he would show the whole guild exactly who Gray's mysterious lover was.

It seemed like the two were kissing for years when they finally separated. The couple took a look around them. A good portion of the guild seemed like they were frozen in shock. However, that wasn't enough for Natsu. He pulled Gray closer to him and placed his arms around his lover's waist.

"Gray is _mine_ ," he declared possessively. At the Dragon Slayer's announcement, the guild slowly came out of their shock.

"Wow… Congratulations guys!" Lucy offered, not knowing what else to say. Never in a million years would she have guessed that Natsu and Gray, two childhood rivals, would become lovers. But she supposed that it did explain Natsu's sullen mood the past week when Gray wasn't here.

Erza was next to step up.

"Does that mean you boys will be getting along better now?" she asked. The two still didn't dare cross the redhead so they nodded nervously. Erza smiled gently. "Then I wish you all the best. Congratulations boys." After that, the whole guild seemed to snap itself out of its trance as they began to cheer and congratulate the two. Makarov, who had up until now only been watching, jumped up and declared a party. Beer was drunken, merriment made and all was right with the world for Natsu and Gray.

* * *

It was sometime later during the party that Juvia walked up to the newly announced couple. For the second time that day, the entire guild seemed to lose their voices. They could only watch as the water mage anxiously walked up to the two. Natsu growled and pulled Gray closer to him only for the raven to slap the Dragon Slayer's hands away. Gray stepped up to meet Juvia halfway and saw that there were tears in her eyes.

"Hey Juvia…" he said softly. Juvia however, cut straight to the chase.

"Does Gray-sama really love Natsu-san?" Gray blinked and looked over to his rosette. Natsu was watching the exchange between him and Juvia carefully, as if watching for any sign that Juvia might try to kiss him or something. The thought warmed Gray's heart.

"Yeah, I do," he said. Juvia turned her head to look at Natsu.

"And does Natsu-san really love Gray-sama?" Without missing a beat, Natsu replied,

"I do." Juvia let a breath out. Gray was immediately concerned with how she would take the news but his worries were waved away when she smiled brightly at the two of them, despite the tears in her eyes.

"Then Juvia wishes you both happiness, Gray-sama." Gray smiled gently and brought Juvia into a hug.

"Thank you so much, Juvia."

* * *

When the party finally ended, Natsu and Gray were the last ones to leave. Natsu had sent Happy along ahead of them, since it was getting late and the Exceed had wanted to sleep. Oddly enough, Happy hadn't found their relationship unexpected at all.

"With the way you two argue, it was meant to be!" Happy had said when the two had asked him about his reaction. Natsu hadn't understood what Happy had meant by that and neither had Gray, but it seemed like everyone else in the guild did. They had all shared a good laugh at the couple's expense and the party had continued on.

Natsu and Gray fell in step beside each other as they walked towards Gray's house.

"Natsu, what was that all about?" Gray asked, killing the silence. Natsu raised an eyebrow.

"They wanted to know, so I showed them," he answered simply. Gray groaned.

"You were the one who wanted to keep it a secret! What made you suddenly change your mind?"

"Wasn't it obvious? I couldn't stand how they were pairing you up with literally every girl in Fairy Tail! Juvia is one thing, but every single girl?!"

"Why didn't you just tell them normally?!" Gray demanded.

"Do you think they would've believed me?!" Natsu shot back. Gray stopped. Natsu was right. The guild probably wouldn't have believed him if he had just said that he was Gray's lover. Gray sighed in defeat.

"You could've at least said something before you did it," he grumbled. Natsu shot him a coy smirk.

"Oh? But I know you liked it." Gray's cheeks darkened as he slapped Natsu upside the head while the Dragon Slayer grinned childishly at him.

"Shut up, Natsu!"

* * *

 **And done! How was it? Drop me a review if you can ;)**

 **Announcement time!**

 **This story is based on requests! This first one is my own prompt because I had this in mind to open up their relationship to the guild, before I actually started writing prompts that you guys give me. I'm willing to accept 9 requests, and I've already gotten one! So 8 more! Feel free to leave a review here with your request of PM me! Either one works! I'll be looking forward to it!**

 **Next item on the agenda: updates!**

 **Unlike Heavenly Vengeance, if anyone reads both that and this, this fic will not have set update dates. I'll post up the chapters whenever they're done, I promise you that much!**

 **That's all from me! I hope you guys have enjoyed this and I'll see you next time!**


	2. That Time I Almost Lost You

**Hey there! Look who's here with chapter two! Haha, I'm not going to lie, this one took me longer than I expected because halfway through writing this, I had a brilliant idea (at least in my opinion) and I had tweak how I had written it up until that point. But I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out. I hope you guys enjoy!**

 **This chapter's prompt is from sktrgrl13!**

 **Prompt: When Natsu, Lucy and Gray are attacked by Zero and nearly killed on top of Nirvana and Lyon et al help them get back to their feet **twist: Gray doesnt wake up****

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. All rights go to Hiro Mashima.**

 **Read and Review!**

* * *

"You're such an idiot!" Natsu shouted. Gray gripped onto the Dragon Slayer's blue and yellow shirt angrily. He had not rushed over to him and Lucy just to get an earful.

"How am I an idiot?!" he demanded.

"You dropped your guard! You idiot! I can't believe you!" Gray growled deep in his throat.

"I'm sorry, Natsu! I was a little preoccupied trying to find Lyon!" It was Natsu's turn to growl.

"Why don't you go date _him_ then?!" he shouted and turned around, stomping back to where Lucy and Happy waited for him. Gray ran his hand through his hair. Curse Natsu for being a jealous idiot.

* * *

An explosion rocked Nirvana's core as Natsu tried yet again to clobber Klodoa. Jura had defeated Brain, who lay defeated at their feet, and the only remaining member of the Oracion Seis was Midnight. Natsu and the rest were fighting Klodoa in an attempt to reach Midnight, but the stick was having none of it. Klodoa has insisted on getting in their way and that was how Gray and Natsu had started a fight with a walking stick.

At first, they thought it would be no big deal. But the staff was agile and as such, Natsu had yet to land a hit. Natsu had mildly tortured it earlier, what with smashing it on the ground so many times in an attempt to find information, and now, the stupid thing was getting its revenge on them.

Natsu lit his fists on fire as he charged yet again. He threw a punch, only for Klodoa to retract and smack him to the side, sending him rolling away.

"Natsu!" Gray called out as he watched his lover get knocked around by a _walking stick_ of all things. Natsu had taken on Gajeel the Iron Dragon Slayer, Laxus the Lightning Dragon Slayer and Jellal Fernandes, a fucking _Wizard Saint_ but he couldn't defeat a walking stick?! This had to be some sort of sick joke. Then he shook his head. No, Natsu wasn't his lover anymore. Natsu didn't care about him and neither should he. He had made it clear that they were through earlier in the forest. He turned his attention back to the battle; he wasn't faring too well either. He, like Natsu, had little success hitting the elusive Klodoa. He had tried everything from Lances to Battleaxes. Nothing seemed to work. He didn't want to belittle himself or Natsu, but maybe if Jura wasn't knocked out…

"Look at him tumble, Lucy!" Happy shouted in the background.

"Well, I don't think that's the main point here," the blonde replied, a hand over her mouth.

In the second that he had not been paying attention, Klodoa took his chance and rammed into his gut, knocking the air out of Gray.

"Why you…!" Natsu shouted. Leaping up after his horrible tumbling experience, he quickly grabbed on to the end of Klodoa. "Caught ya!" he shouted. Gray righted himself and pumped a fist.

"Yes! Now we can beat the crap out of it!" He was interrupted as Klodoa smack him on the head and Gray fell back. Klodoa seemed to keep up this assault, switching between Natsu's head and Gray's. "Stop moving around!" Gray screamed at the stick. Klodoa, of course, ignored the raven haired teen and continued. When Gray was hit again, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Hold it down properly, you dolt!"

"Maybe try dodging it instead, you idiot!" the rosette snarled back. With that, the two started to fight each other, with Klodoa poking them every once in a while. The spectators of the battle watched with pity.

"This is not a pretty battle," Happy said.

Suddenly, Klodoa perked and turned his attention to Lucy. The soulless stare unnerved the blonde.

"Here we go again! The usual…"

"The usual over self-consciousness?" Happy asked as he struck a pose behind her.

"No!" Lucy shouted indignantly. Then, her mood seemed to flip as she struck a pose herself. "The usual 'It's such trouble being so cute!'"

While Lucy was seemingly in her own little world, the two boys were still fighting, their hands pushing the other's face away.

"Natsu! Gray! Lucy broke!" Happy announced to the two. The Fairy Tail mages seemed to have ignored Klodoa up until that point, but were reminded of his presence when he looked away unhappily.

"Oh, it's just a kid. What a disappointment…"

"A kid?!" Happy winced. There went Lucy's womanly pride.

"Now!" Gray shouted as he prepared a spell with Natsu somewhere beside him, his fists on fire. Klodoa's guard was dropped so they would be able to take it down with ease! Unfortunately, Klodoa's guard was still very much up and he took the opportunity to strike both Gray and Natsu, sending the back in opposite directions. He levitated up and the orb he held in between his mouth began to spark.

"You brats…" he growled as the spell unleashed. Lightning rained down on the two boys and they shouted in pain.

"Natsu! Gray!" Lucy shouted.

"Oh no! That guy is actually strong!" Happy said.

Gray and Natsu knelt to the ground, still feeling the shock of the electric attack. Klodoa looked down on them from where he levitated.

"What's wrong? Is all you got your youth? Youth alone isn't going to beat me! You young ones always showing off your youth, you!" the stick grumbled as he turned away from the group.

"I think he might be self-conscious about his age," Lucy muttered, moving her head to the side.

"Aye…"

Suddenly, Klodoa turned to face them.

"And what?" Natsu demanded.

"Right on the mark, huh?" Lucy asked. Happy sweat dropped.

"No, I think it's something else." Through the orb Klodoa kept in his mouth, images of the defeated Oracion Seis flashed for all the mages to see.

"Incredible… All six… All six Generals have been wiped out!" As he said this, the final marking on the unconscious Brain's face dissolved and faded away to nothing. However, no one noticed. They were all focused on the sudden dropping of the orb onto the ground, where it cracked into many pieces. All four of them looked up to find Klodoa in a state of dread. "No! This is bad! Very bad! He is coming!" As Klodoa panicked in the air above them, the Fairy Tail mages watched in confusion.

"Huh?" Gray asked.

"What's he saying?" Natsu echoed.

"'He'?" Lucy asked.

"There's someone else? Don't tell me the eighth," Happy said. Again, unnoticed by everyone, the remaining markings on Brain's face glowed and flashed bright yellow. Everyone turned to face him, only for the bright yellow light to expand and fill the room. Klodoa's skeletal teeth chattered.

"Brain has another personality. There is a front face, codenamed Brain, who holds so much knowledge. Then there is the back face, codenamed Zero, who loves nothing but destruction."

"Loves destruction?" Lucy repeated. Klodoa continued, ignoring her question.

"Due to his overwhelming, evil magic power, Brain sealed that existence away with six keys." Gray's eyes widened in realization.

"Those are… the Oracion Seis!"

"Exactly. And when the Six Generals fall and their Body Link magic is broken, the personality of Zero will be born again." Just as Klodoa finished his grim announcement, the mages heard movement from behind them. Natsu whipped around and tackled Gray just fast enough so that he wasn't hit by the many green tendrils that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Natsu!" The Dragon Slayer looked forward, an unreadable look on his features.

"Pay more attention, Ice Princess," he said seriously. Gray said nothing in response and simply chose to turn to where the attack had originated form. There, behind them all, stood a man with white hair like Brain's, a body structure like Brain's and Brain's clothing. Klodoa fell to his figurative feet and knelt in front of the man before them.

"Welcome back, Master Zero!" Gray surveyed the man in front of them in more detail. His build was like Brain's yes, he couldn't deny that, but he seemed so different. Apart from the much paler skin and the blood red eyes, his aura was different. Brain had given off and aura that demanded respect because he was wise and powerful. Zero's aura was completely the opposite. Brain's aura had been almost noble, but Zero's was chaotic. The very air surrounding them thrummed under power, as if it was itching to destroy.

"Klodoa, things seemed to have gotten very interesting. Even Midnight was defeated?" Klodoa panicked and stuttered out,

"I-I truly apologise!" Zero continued on as if he had not heard.

"Although, it sure has been a while, to have this feeling… this voice… this body! This magic! It all brings me back…" Black and red lightning arced around Zero's left arm and he clenched it to make a fist. Looking up, he turned to the four mages he was confronted with. "I'll handle the rest. Step back, Klodoa." The staff rushed to obey and flew behind his master.

Zero took his white cape and tore it from his shoulders. He scrutinized each and every one of the teenagers before him.

"A Celestial Spirit mage…" he said as he looked at Lucy. The blonde shivered and tried to keep from falling to the ground out of fear. Zero turned to Happy next. He said nothing and simply moved on to the next mage. "An Ice Creation mage…" he continued as he observed Gray. The raven gulped and continued to stare at his opponent. Finally, Zero turned to Natsu. His eyebrow raised and he barked out a laugh. "What do we have here? A Fire Dragon Slayer. This will be amusing!" he declared as green tendrils rose up from the ground and Zero was encased in a slime green aura. A camo print shirt formed on his bare chest, as he prepared to fight. His red eyes glinted with insanity as he spoke.

"You brats… You sure made a mess out of my guild. As its master, I will have to make you pay for that." There was a pause before the calm was shattered and green tendrils burst out of a large purple magic circle that had appeared in Zero's hand. "And I will start with you, Dragon Slayer!"

* * *

Natsu shuddered as he stared at the man in front of him. His magic power was off the charts! He shakily took a step back, every instinct in his body screaming for him to run and that he _couldn't beat this guy_. When the green aura had appeared, he knew that this man was far out of his league. He knew and yet he didn't run. He couldn't run. Even when an attack raced towards him at a deadly speed, his feet were stuck to the ground, frozen in fear. He heard Lucy and Happy scream for him in the background. But he couldn't move. All he could do was close his eyes and brace for impact.

But nothing came.

Natsu dared a peek and inhaled sharply at what he saw. In front of him, there stood an ice shield. Gray was behind his ice shield, his arms in front of him and surrounded by a chilly mist as he attempted to hold his shield together.

Gray turned back and found Natsu staring at him owlishly. He smiled sadly. He could feel his ice cracking. It wouldn't be able to hold and he knew it. Gray looked at his ex-boyfriend sadly. He knew that this would likely be the last time he would see the rosette again, if the impact he could feel on his shield was anything to judge by. So he stared Natsu in the eye and mouthed three words, just before his ice shield crumbled and he was sent flying and everything faded to black.

 _Thank you, Natsu._

* * *

Natsu watched in numbed shock as Gray flew back behind him. He heard the painful crash and robotically turned behind him. Gray laid there, unmoving, crumpled in a heap. For a minute, everything stopped for Natsu. When he finally regained his wits, he saw red. His flames burned angrily within him and he screamed out his anguish. Turning furiously to face his enemy, he charged forward with a flaming punch.

Even his anger wasn't enough.

The same purple magic circle appeared in front of his own red one. Zero's circle was much larger and as such, Natsu was sent flying upwards where he crashed into the ceiling. His last conscious thought was that he had failed to protect his _nakama_.

* * *

"We need three more! Someone answer me! Is there no one else?" Erza pleaded, desperate for three more mages to take down Nirvana. Off to her right, Wendy pointed up at the sky.

"Look! Christina is…"

"It's losing altitude!" Carla finished. Erza looked up and it was exactly as they said. The airship was on a path towards the ground and there would be nothing to cushion the landing. In front of their eyes, the ice wing that had been holding the ship up shattered.

Up on the ship, Lyon collapsed backwards, his magic having depleted to zero.

"Damnit… This is pathetic," he chastised. Up on the bow of the ship, Sherry fell to her back and panted in exhaustion.

"I'm… sorry." Ren turned to her in concern.

"Sherry!" Scowling, he dropped his spell and ran over to her, propped her up on his lap. Even if Christina crashed, he would be damned if he let a woman get hurt.

"Please! Natsu! Lucy! Gray! Answer me!" Erza pleaded through the telepathic feed. Jellal watched the redhead with intrigue. Just moments earlier, she had been a fierce and merciless warrior. Now, she was like a caring older sister. There truly were many sides to Titania, he mused.

"Lucy… I… really hate you. Just because you think you're a little cute, you think you're all that. Even though you're stupid and clumsy and a weakling… But how can I hate you if you die? It wouldn't feel right… So answer me!" Sherry pleaded. Those three were their last hopes in stopping Nirvana. Even though Sherry would always be cuter and she didn't like the blonde, she couldn't live with herself if Lucy died.

* * *

Natsu's fingers twitched as he came out of the throes of unconsciousness. Struggling, he curled his fingers and made a fist. His other hand moved forward and he pressed his palm to the floor, trying to push his body, which seemed five times heavier than usual, up. He mildly succeeded and panted from the exertion on his aching muscles. Then, when he had sort of caught his breath, he threw his fist into the floor, cracking it. He needed its support to stay upright. But that fact was nowhere near his mind. He was thinking about destroying Zero.

Lucy's brown eyes opened slowly and closed once more when she found that adjusting to the light was painful. When she seemed to have adjusted, she opened her eyes once more and turned her head to look up at Natsu. If Natsu was doing his best… then she would too! Slowly and surely, she pushed herself up off the ground, using the slab of stone that was beside her as support as she leaned on it. She saw Happy's tail twitch as he also fought to stand. Zero had really done a number on them all. But, if they could smash all six of the lacrima like Hibiki had said, they would have defeated the nightmare that was Oracion Seis' guildmaster.

* * *

Natsu heaved in lungfuls of air. Struggling, he managed to respond to Erza. Then, he noticed a lack of a cocky voice. He turned around to see Gray still lying on his side, unconscious. Natsu's heart dropped to his stomach as he slowly crawled over to the raven. Natsu told Hibiki to cut the link and preserve his magic to which the playboy did. Hibiki had said that he would reopen the link in five minutes, so five minutes was all he had to do what he needed to do.

Natsu rolled Gray onto his back and took in all the scratches and bruises that littered his ice mage's body. He frowned. Even with the extent of these injuries, Gray should not have been kept down for this long. He leaned down at Gray's mouth and hovered his ear over it. Natsu's eyes widened as he realized why Gray wasn't waking up with sickening clarity.

 _Gray wasn't breathing._

Panicked, he moved down and pressed his ear on Gray's chest. He was relieved when he heard a heartbeat, but then he realized that it was getting slower and slower. Natsu sat back up, mortified.

Gray was…

Gray was dying.

He frantically grabbed the raven by his shoulders and shook him, being none to gentle about it. No! Gray wasn't allowed to leave him!

"Gray! Wake up Frost Breath! Damn Gray if you don't wake up right now I'm going to kick your ass so hard your ancestors will feel it!" he shouted, his voice hitching every now and then out of fear. But even Natsu's half-hearted threats weren't enough to rouse Gray. Natsu felt tear after tear stream down his face. Moving as if in a trance, he positioned himself over Gray's lips and plugged his nose.

Natsu breathed breath after breath into Gray's mouth. But despite his attempts, Gray did not start breathing on his own. Lucy had been watching the scene with grief in her eyes and she couldn't take Natsu doing this himself anymore. Hibiki would be reactivating his telepathy anytime now. She moved over to Natsu along with Happy and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Natsu… he's gone. Let him go," she choked out, her own tears streaming down her cheeks. Happy was also crying as he walked up to Gray and hugged his upper arm, begging for Gray to open his eyes. Natsu fell back after a breath and slumped down, not even bothering to hide the sobs that wracked his frame.

"G-Gray…" he sobbed, moving so that he was positioned over the ice mage's chest. "G-Gray I love you! I'm sorry we fought! I didn't mean anything I said! So please… please! Come back to me Gray! Don't leave me like Lisanna and Igneel did! I love you! Gray!" Natsu looked up tearfully at his raven's pale face, unmoving. Lucy sniffed and gently pulled Natsu away from Gray. Natsu slumped into Lucy's hold and hugged her, crying his eyes out. Happy tightened his grip on the ice mage and sobbed.

* * *

 _What's that? It sounds like… someone crying._

 ** _G-Gray I love you!_**

 _Is that… Natsu?_

 ** _Come back to me Gray! Don't leave me like Lisanna and Igneel did!_**

 _Natsu! Ugh damnit body move! Natsu!_

 _There was a blinding red light and Gray happily let himself be engulfed by it._

* * *

Happy's ears perked as he picked up on a beating noise. Happy crawled up on top of Gray's chest and pressed his ear to his heart, much to the interest of Lucy and Natsu. There it was. The steady, strong heartbeat that they all longed to hear. Natsu all but tore himself out of Lucy's hug and leaned himself over Gray on all fours.

"Gray? Can you hear me?" The raven's midnight blue eyes opened blearily and looked up at the rosette. He smiled up at the Dragon Slayer and moved his arm slowly up to wipe away the tear tracks that adorned Natsu's cheeks.

"Don't cry… Natsu." Overcome with relief, Natsu moved down and enveloped Gray in a bone crushing hug. Happy of course, had leapt out of the way earlier. When Natsu pulled back he stared into Gray's eyes.

"You know what we have to do right?"

A nod.

"Good. Then I'll see you when we get back. You and I need to talk."

* * *

Gray followed Natsu into the forest, the only sound between them the sound of the crunching leaves underneath their feet. Gray stared at the back of Natsu's head intently. He didn't know what there was to talk about between them. Wasn't the whole problem solved? Natsu suddenly stopped in front of him and Gray did as well. Gray put most of his weight on one foot as he asked,

"So what did you want to talk about?" Natsu abruptly turned around and hugged him closely. Gray blushed but returned the hug slowly. "Natsu?"

"Shh… Just… let me hug you for a while. I— " Natsu's voice cracked as he turned away from Gray's prying eyes. "I almost lost you," he sobbed. Gray gave a soft smile and hugged Natsu's head close to his chest.

"It's ok now Natsu. I'm still here and I still love you." Natsu looked up and smiled before pulled Gray's head down to his for a kiss. It was soft and gentle, just like their first kiss. Gray could feel the love behind the kiss and he didn't hesitate to open his mouth when Natsu gently brushed his tongue across Gray's lips, asking for silent permission. Natsu eagerly made out with Gray and both of them hummed happily.

When the two parted Natsu affectionately pecked Gray on the nose and laughed.

"I'm sorry I was a jealous idiot earlier. I really do love you, Gray." The older teen smiled and returned the kiss on Natsu's cheek.

"I love you too Natsu. And don't worry, I won't ever leave you. I'm never going to leave you by yourself."

* * *

 **Might've given myself feels while writing this. Oh well. I hope you guys liked it and I hope this chapter was up to your expectations sktrgrl13! Leave me some reviews guys! Until next time!**


	3. That Time We Ran Into Him Again

**Hello! Wow, busy day for me. I'm on a writing roll XD Here's chapter three of "The Times After That"! Today's prompt was given to me by Patty the Purple Platypus! I hope you all enjoy chapter 3!**

 **Prompt:** **where gray and natsu run into Lyon again after he turned nice but natsu is still protective of gray because of Galluna Island**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.**

 **Read and review!**

* * *

Natsu and Gray walked into the guild, hand in hand. Mirajane caught them out of the corner of her eye and she smiled.

"Welcome back Natsu! Gray! How was the mission?" The two grinned cheekily and Natsu took the opportunity to peck his lover on his cheek.

"It was great! We beat everyone up no problem!" Mira smiled at the two. The couple were so happy together that their guildmates couldn't help but smile whenever they saw the two. Gray shot a smirk at Natsu.

"I'm pretty sure I beat up the most people though!" he proclaimed. Natsu felt his playful spirit ignite.

"Oh yeah, Ice Princess?" he dared, backing up and getting ready to pounce. Gray noticed this and laughed, crouching down low himself.

"Damn right, Fire Breath!" he teased jovially. With a laugh, Natsu launched himself at his lover and the two rolled around on the ground, playful punches and kicks being thrown at the other. Mira smiled happily as she watched the two bump into many other members of the guild, earning them half-hearted complaints. She laughed. Some things just didn't change though, even if the two rivals were dating now.

The couple came to a stop in front of a familiar pair of black boots. The two froze with Natsu's hands pulling Gray's cheeks and Gray's hands clutching Natsu's white scarf. Slowly, they lifted their heads up to meet the terrifying glare of none other than Erza Scarlet. The two squeaked out of fear and prepared to run only to be grabbed by their scarf and necklace respectively.

"You two…" the redhead began calmly. Natsu and Gray gulped. Even if Erza sounded calm, they had known her for years and the tone that she used now was one that she used when she was fed up with something, usually stupid stunts that the two boys pulled. "I'm happy that you're both enjoying each other's presence so much," she continued, this time with her eyebrow twitching in annoyance. Gray gulped and tried to save them.

"H-Hold on Erza! Let us explain!"

"Aye!" Natsu chimed in. However, Erza was having none of it. She dragged the two outside of the guild and stood in front of the doors, towering over their sitting forms.

"But if you're going to have a lovers spat, do it outside! The guild has been repaired enough times already!" With that, the redhead slammed the doors closed, leaving the two in a stunned silence.

Natsu laughed loudly. Gray tried to glare at his rosette but he couldn't help himself from laughing along as well. Natsu's childish laughter was contagious after all. Natsu pushed himself off the ground and held his hand out to Gray. The raven swatted it away and helped himself up.

"I'm not some princess who needs help standing, Natsu," he said. Natsu grinned.

"Well are you my Ice _Princess_."

And that was how another brawl started up right in front of the guild's doors.

* * *

Natsu and Gray laughed as they made their way through town with Natsu's arm around Gray's waist. The first time the two had been open about their affection, they had gotten a lot of jaw dropping and fainting. Of course, after all that had run its course, the citizens of Magnolia had accepted the fact that the two were dating with kindness. They were lucky that people in Magnolia were so accepting. Of course, every now and then, there would be a teasing catcall to which Gray would blush and Natsu would grin. The town just seemed to love to watch Gray squirm. However, it had surprised him the first time that Natsu had not beat the ever living shit out of whoever had done it. The Dragon Slayer later told him that he could smell if the person was teasing or genuinely hitting on one of them. Gray cringed as he remembered the first time someone had actually genuinely catcalled him. He had had to pry Natsu off the foolish man. Natsu was nearly arrested for attacking a travelling civilian but Makarov had stepped in and sorted it out, much to Gray's relief.

Now, walking through the streets of Magnolia, people were smiling at them and waving. Gray felt himself grin back. Natsu tightened his hold on Gray's waist and pulled him closer to him.

" _Mine_ ," he seemed to growl possessively. The townsfolk rolled their eyes and laughed, going back to their own business. Gray turned to Natsu.

"Really? They were only smiling." Natsu turned away, his cheeks red with embarrassment.

"Sorry… you just looked really handsome and I—" He was cut off by a quick kiss on the lips from his raven haired lover. Natsu looked up incredulously and say that Gray had covered his reddening cheeks with his hands and was avoiding his gaze.

"Don't say stuff like that out in public, idiot!" he scolded. Natsu's eyes widened before he chuckled. His ice mage was so cute!

Their cute moment was interrupted when a very familiar scent entered Natsu's nostrils as he whipped around just as a familiar voice asked,

"Gray?" The raven turned and he was pleasantly surprised when he saw just who it was that had called his name.

"Lyon?!"

* * *

The tension in the air was almost palpable. The three mages sat outside a café, each of them having ordered something to eat and drink. The waitresses and waiters peeked out from around a corner, afraid to go near the table. Natsu had a deadly serious glare on and Lyon was looking rather irate himself. Gray however, was nothing of the sort. Seeing this, a daring waitress walked up to the table and set down Gray's food.

"Here you are, sir," she said nervously. Gray pretended not to notice and took a deep whiff of the delicious aroma the food had. He grinned.

"Thanks! It looks great!" he said as he dug in. After the first bite, he grinned and began shoving more food into his mouth. "Wow this tastes awesome! Lyon you have great taste!" he praised. The other ice mage snapped out of his staring contest with the Dragon Slayer across from him temporarily.

"Ah, I'm glad you like it. I'm kind of surprised that you haven't been here before. It's supposed to be a really famous café and you _live_ in this city." Gray swallowed another mouthful before replying.

"Yeah but I don't go for fancy food like this. I can get food at Fairy Tail or I can always make something at home." Lyon nodded.

"I guess that's true." The white haired ice mage turned back to find the Salamander glaring at him harder than every before. Lyon scowled. Just his luck to have run into the boisterous Dragon Slayer along with his fellow pupil. He didn't mind Gray that much anymore but the Salamander on the other hand... He groaned. He was never going to come to Magnolia again if he could help it. The only reason he was there in the first place was because he had a favour to run for Ooba Babasaamma…

His train of thought was interrupted by the soft sound of a plate. He looked up and found a nervous looking waiter in front of him.

"H-Here you are, sir. Please enjoy!" he stammered out before all but running away from the table. Lyon looked across from him and found Natsu slowly eating his caramelized frank that had just arrived. Lyon grabbed his fork and began to dig in.

* * *

The meal passed in silence and Gray was calmly sipping from his drink when the two boys in front of him finished up their food. He cleared his throat and looked over to Lyon while leaning his weight on the table.

"So Lyon, what brings you to Magnolia?" Natsu spat out a bite of his caramelized frank and the food went flying onto the unfortunate person in front of him: Lyon. Gray stood up and grabbed his napkin.

"Lyon! Natsu apologise!" The rosette looked away petulantly and muttered out something that might've been an apology. Gray rolled his eyes and gave him the benefit of doubt. "Come on, I'll take you to the men's room and I'll help you clean all this caramel off you." Natsu slammed his hands down on the table.

"N-No! I've got it! I was the one who got him all dirty in the first place, it's only right that I help him clean up? Right, Lyon?" The silverette was about to respond that that was a _horrible_ idea but Natsu cut him off by pulling on his sleeve and dragging him away. Gray was left staring at their two retreating figures before sitting back down in his own chair.

"What the heck is going on with Natsu…?"

* * *

Natsu ran a cloth he had gotten from the manager under cold water, getting it thoroughly soaked. Lyon would've crossed his arms as he watched Natsu, but at the risk of getting his sleeves stuck together, he refrained from doing so.

"So? What's your beef with me Salamander?" he demanded. Natsu turned the tap off and thrust the cloth into his hands.

"I don't trust you. You hurt Gray and anyone who hurts Gray is an enemy to me." Lyon rolled his eyes as he attempted to clean the caramel out of his hair.

"Have you ever heard of people changing?" he asked. Natsu scowled.

"It's only been a few months. Most people don't change that quickly. I'm warning you, stay away from Gray." With that, he left the bathroom, leaving Lyon alone with his sticky… everything.

* * *

"Come on Gray, let's go," Natsu said as he grabbed onto his raven's wrist and pulled him towards the exit. Gray glanced behind them confusedly.

"Where's Lyon?" he asked.

"He said he'd pay for us like the nice person he is," Natsu lied cheerfully. Gray raised an eyebrow.

"Natsu, what's wrong? You're not acting yourself." Natsu scowled.

"Don't worry about it," he ground out through gritted teeth.

* * *

The two went back to Gray's house and took a nap together on Gray's bed. They were woken up by furious knocking at the front door. Natsu groaned and covered himself with the blanket, leaving Gray with none. Gray sighed and took the silent bait. He stood up and yawned before going downstairs and opening the door.

"Lyon!" he shouted, surprised. Natus's eyes snapped open and he rushed down the stairs, breathless and came to stop behind Gray. The silverette turned to him and pointed a finger accusingly.

"What is he doing here?! Why do you live with your rival?!" he demanded. Natsu growled and pointed a finger right back at the older ice mage.

"The same goes for you! What are you doing here?! How did you even know where Gray lived anyway?! Stalker! I knew you were dangerous!" Lyon sputtered indignantly.

"I am no such thing!" he roared. "I asked your guild, since I wanted to have a chat with Gray, without your annoying presence, Salamander!" Natsu scowled and strode forward and pushed Gray, who had up until then been slack-jawed with shock, behind him.

"I won't let you near Gray again! Didn't you see him suffer enough on Galuna Island?! You aren't going to get a second chance to hurt him damnit!" Gray's eyes widened and he slapped the back of Natsu's head. Lyon, who had been about to let loose a scathing retort, felt it die on his lips. Natsu turned around incredulously, staring wide eyed at his lover.

"Natsu I'm fine! Lyon is ok once you get to know him. Trust me, he isn't going to hurt me or you." Natsu growled at him. How could Gray be so sure?

"You don't know that! Damn it Gray, I can't watch you fall apart like that again!" Gray's eyes widened but Natsu paid it no heed as he continued. "You were so defeated, it was like the entire world around you had crumbled to pieces. You weren't anything like yourself and it scared me! I never want to see you like that again!" Natsu glared at Lyon, who had wisely remained silent and had looked away guiltily, knowing that he had been the cause of Gray's suffering on Galuna Island. Natsu growled in his direction, deep and feral. "Do you still wonder why I won't let you near him?" he demanded. Lyon looked up to face Natsu, a determined glint in his eyes.

"I understand your concern. But, I hardly think that's fair. Like I said earlier, people can change and besides, it doesn't look like Gray wants your protection, Salamander!"

"My name is Natsu Dragneel! Use it!"

"Fine _Natsu_ , let's ask Gray what he thinks about all this." The two turned expectantly to Gray, who had been shocked into a stupor. Gray shook himself out of it and opened his mouth, only to close it again. What was he supposed to say? He took a deep breath and turned to Lyon.

"Lyon… I _do_ forgive you for what you did back on Galuna Island," he started. Natsu opened his mouth, about to tell his lover off, only to be stopped by a hand on his chest. "You weren't in your right mind… but I don't need to tell you that what you did was wrong, do I?" Lyon looked away in shame. He would be the first to admit that Galuna Island was not one of his best moments. But he couldn't erase the past. All he could do was try to make up for it in the present.

Gray turned back to Natsu. His lover was looking at him with an unreadable expression. Gray took another deep breath.

"Natsu… I understand your concern. Thank you… very much. It means a lot to me that you care so much. But…" he trailed off, not knowing how to say what he wanted to say. "You have to give Lyon a second chance. I gave him one. Everyone deserves a second shot," he said. Natsu frowned but did not argue. Finally, after a tense silence, Natsu sighed in defeat. He could never win against Gray when he spoke like that.

"Fine. I guess I can, for your sake." Gray smiled and hugged the rosette thankfully, to which Natsu happily returned. Natsu released Gray first and walked over to Lyon, who met him eye for eye.

"I'll forgive you. But if you ever hurt my Gray again, I won't hesitate to kill you," he promised. Lyon gulped before noticing something off about that sentence. However, before he got the chance to ask, Natsu had already turned back and lifted Gray up and over his shoulder, to which the raven was heavily protesting.

"Natsu! What are you doing?! Put me down!" Natsu grinned mischievously.

"Nope. Come on Ice Princess, we're going back upstairs."

"I can walk by myself!"

"Not when I'm done with you," Natsu whispered into his ear and Gray's cheeks flushed a brilliant red. The bedroom door slammed shut, leaving Lyon to process what had just happened in front of him.

"'My Gray'"?

* * *

 **Prompt #2 done! I hope I didn't disappoint you Patty! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/favourited/followed! You guys rock! See you next time! :)**


	4. That Time For All of Fiore To See

**Alright, here we go! Chapter 4! This prompt was given to me by Blue Blast! I hope you like it! I'm venturing a little deeper into yaoi territory with this one XD**

 **Prompt:** **Could you do one with the Grand Magic Games? I've kinda always wanted to see how that would work, and I can totally imagine the commentators putting on a kiss cam and stuff.**

 **Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, not me.**

 **Read and Review!**

* * *

"What the hell's going on here?!"

Natsu stared down from the balcony that he stood on. He was in Crocus, at the Grand Magic Games, the first big thing that he'd done in seven years. When he had heard that there were battles, he had been excited and raring to go. But now, staring at Mirajane and Jenny strike several poses dressed in several different outfits, he was seriously questioning the whole "fighting" part of the games. He shuddered at the thought of what might happen to his fight in the future.

Gray gawked as he watched Mira change into a teal swimsuit. When they had said "a fight between two former models", this was not what he was expecting, not by a long shot. Right after Elfman's amazing fight against Bacchus too. This was a complete one eighty. Nevertheless, he cheered for his platinum blonde friend, albeit a little weakly.

"Win, Mira!" he shouted and he heard his lover beside him echo his cheer. Erza nodded her head, seemingly very happy with herself.

"Good boys. This is truly a difficult battle!" she said.

 _Not really_ , the two thought in unison. Wendy peered up at the Lacrima Vision showing the pictures of the two models.

"They do this sort of battle too?" she asked, feeling embarrassed. Lucy sweat dropped.

"I imagine this involves a special rule…"

* * *

Gray and Natsu spaced out, not paying much attention to the "battle". This wasn't what they came here for after all. They were here for the one million jewels and to reestablish themselves as the strongest guild in Fiore. Their thoughts were interrupted by a voice shouting,

"Hold it!" The two boys turned their heads and saw none other than Beth, Arana and Risley jump down from Mermaid Heel's balcony. "It won't do to let these little girls get the all attention!" Arana shouted. "When it comes to strength and beauty…"

"Mermaid Heel is number one!" Risley finished as they struck poses for the lacrima.

"Why do I have to be here?" Beth asked to no one.

Following Mermaid Heel's crashing of the battle, several other female members of the other guilds came out to pose as well. It wasn't all that surprising to Fairy Tail Team A when the First Master appeared in front of them all. If the mischievous look in her eye was anything to go by, the female members of the team knew exactly what Mavis wanted them to do.

"You three can't just sit back and watch either! Let's all join in the fun!" Lucy looked at the First Master indignantly.

"Why?!" Erza smiled as she looked down.

"When other people from the cheering section take the field, doing nothing is not an option!" she declared. Wendy and Lucy looked back at the redhead fearfully, but knew better than to refuse.

Within minutes, every female member of the guilds, save Sabertooth, was on the field, posing for the audience. Natsu and Gray frowned but didn't complain. Natsu moved closer to Gray on the balcony and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Well, at least we're alone now." Gray wanted to smack Natsu for doing that, since they were in front of an entire stadium filled with people, but up here in the balcony, there was hardly anyone who could see them. Plus, Gray had all but ignored the Dragon Slayer the day before, still extremely upset with his loss. So he allowed Natsu to hold on to his waist, but when the rosette brought his face closer to Gray's, the raven was tempted to pull away.

"Natsu, we can't! There are tons of people here! Anyone could see!" Natsu growled and moved his mouth next to Gray's ear, his breath warm and his voice low and seductive.

"Let them see. I'll show them all that you're _mine_." Gray shivered in the face of his possessive dragon. Just when Natsu was about to close the distance between their lips, Gray disappeared in front of his eyes, having been teleported away somewhere. Natsu's eyes widened and he was about to scream out every profanity he knew when he felt himself get teleported as well.

* * *

Natsu opened his eyes and found himself looking up at the people filled bleachers. Ok, so he was still in the stadium. But why did everything suddenly look like it was higher.

"Natsu!" he heard someone call. Natsu turned around and found Lisanna running towards him… in a wedding dress?! Natsu was a lot more than surprised, but he hid it well.

"Lisanna! You look good in that!" The white haired girl giggled and looked down.

"You too, Natsu." Confused, the Dragon Slayer looked down. To his shock, he was dressed in a white tuxedo. His hand frantically reached for his neck and he was relieved to find his beloved scarf still resting there.

"Whoa! When did I change?!" he shouted. Lisanna giggled.

"Well, you should probably go find Gray! He's probably around here somewhere," she advised before taking off to look for her own partner. Natsu sniffed around. Just like Lisanna said, he could smell Gray here. Now all he had to do was find him.

* * *

"Gray-sama!" Juvia called. Gray turned and found himself face to face with a bluenette in a wedding dress. Gray gulped, but managed a smile.

"You look nice, Juvia," he said politely. The girl squealed and threw her arms around him in a hug.

"Thank you, Gray-sama!" Gray-sama looks very handsome!" Juvia released the raven as he looked down and realized just then that his clothes had changed. Instead of his Team Fairy Tail outfit, he was dressed in black slacks, a black tailcoat and wore a blue cravat.

"Whoa… what?" he asked, thoroughly confused. He didn't remember changing. The last thing he remembered was…

Gray's cheeks flushed red as he thought back to what Natsu was saying just before he was teleported down to the stadium floor.

 _Let them see. I'll show them all that you're_ mine _._

Juvia cocked her head to the side.

"Is Gray-sama alright? His face his red." Gray looked away and covered his cheeks with his hand, hoping to hide his blush.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing." Just then, Lyon strode over to where they were standing.

"Gray. I'm surprised you haven't stripped yet," he said. Gray frowned.

"Is that how you greet people Lyon? Because it sucks," he teased as he punched his surrogate older brother in the shoulder. Lyon laughed and clapped him on the back.

"Shouldn't you go find your lover?"

"Ah… I probably should. See ya, Juvia, Lyon!" Gray said as he left in search of Natsu. Lyon and Juvia laughed. Lyon knelt down on one knee and kissed Juvia's hand.

"Now then, Juvia-chan, will you do me the honour of being my partner?" Juvia smiled.

"Of course, Lyon-sama."

* * *

"Gray! There you are!" Natsu called. He saw his raven turn and break out into a smile as he made his way towards him. Natsu wrapped his arms around Gray's waist and pressed his forehead to Gray's. "Found you," he announced as he grinned childishly. Gray laughed and he looked down at Natsu's attire.

"Hmm… you clean up pretty nicely Flame Brain," he teased. Natsu raised an eyebrow.

"So do you, Ice Princess. Although, I'm kind of surprised that you haven't stripped yet." Gray pouted.

"That's exactly what Lyon said. Man, you guys have no faith in me do you? Besdies…" he trailed off, smirking at his lover's clueless gaze. "You're more like the princess here, dressed in all white like a bride." Natsu's eyes widened before they narrowed mischievously.

"Is that so… Well then," he said as he scooped Gray up and lifted him bridal style. Gray yelped and wrapped his arms around Natsu's neck lest he fall. Too bad that made his position look worse. "We'll just have to fix that," Natsu finished as he grinned. Gray squirmed in Natsu's hold but the Dragon Slayer only tightened his grip on his lover.

"What the hell Natsu, put me down!" Natsu silenced the raven with a kiss.

"Nope. Don't you remember what I said earlier? I'm gonna show _everyone_ that you're mine."

Just then, a bell rang, signaling the end of the wedding dress portion of the battle. Just as Chapati Lola was about to announce the next swimsuit, someone jumped down from a statue. It was none other than Lamia Scale's elderly master. No one knew what to expect, but when her cloak came flying off to reveal a pink swimming suit, the crowd went dead silent. As did every mage on the battlefield. Not knowing what else to do, they all returned back to their seats.

* * *

"She's going to do what?!" Natsu and Gray screamed when they heard the bet. Wendy cowered from behind a railing.

"Mira-san…" she whispered.

"T-The final theme is… battle gear!" Jenny was the first to change. She appeared in a flash of golden light, clad in blue and pink battle gear.

"This is my battle form," she announced, looking self-confident. Mirajane smiled and prepared to change into her battle gear as well.

"Then, I'll change into mine. We went with the flow of the previous matches and made a bet, so maybe it'll be ok to keep going with that flow and finish this up with a little dust-up?" she asked as she was enveloped by a crimson light.

"Eh?" Jenny asked, suddenly dreading Mirajane's transformation. When the light faded, where a beautiful bartender once stood, there was a blue and white demon. Its hair was blown back and fire rose up from the ground underneath it. Its claws were sharp and pointed, guaranteeing blood if you were scratched. Jenny gulped. This was… Mirajane?!

"What's the form?" Lucy asked from up in the balcony.

"Mirajane's demon Sitri form. From what I know, it's her strongest Satan Soul," Erza answered with a smile.

Shadows covered Mirajane's eyes as she spoke to her opponent.

"I accepted your bet. Now I want you to accept my power."

"What?!" Jenny asked nervously.

"Ok?" Mira asked. There was a second long pause before the S-class mage launched herself forward and delivered a punch to the blonde. Jenny went flying into the air. Natsu and Gray watched in disbelief, making sure never to get on Mira's bad side. The Trimens also watched, utterly dumbfounded and a little afraid of Mirajane's power. The crowd cheered wildly at the display of power.

"A complete change! In the end, we got a physical fight!" Chapati exclaimed.

"Well, that is the original rule…" Yajima said.

"Cool! Cool! Cool!" Jason supplied.

"The winner… Mirajane!" Chapati declared as Mira pumped a fist in the air.

"That's like the old Mira! Awesome!" Natsu shouted. Gray sweat dropped.

"Even so, I thought this was supposed to be a pinup model battle…"

"Well I don't recall there being a 'no punching' rule," Erza said. Wendy and Lucy laughed awkwardly. That was Erza logic for you.

* * *

During the intermission, the lacrima powered speakers came on.

"Ahem, everyone, please stay in your seats! That goes for the participants as well! Wherever you are, do not move!" Everyone froze in their tracks, curious as to what this announcement was about. Was it another game like Sky Labyrinth? After a few minutes of waiting, the speakers came on once again.

"Due to the request of some of our sponsors, we will now do something that we have never done in the Grand Magic Games! We are going to send Mato with a camera to random places in the stadium and whichever two people are featured on the Lacrima Vision will kiss!" Everyone's jaws dropped. Some people stood up and rushed to get to the exit, only for the Rune Knights to show up and block the exit. Mato piped up on the speakers.

"Kabo! To keep it so that it's fun, we have blocked off all the exits to the stadium! Let's go, kabo!" With that, the pumpkin man disappeared from the Lacrima Vision. Everyone turned around uncomfortably, searching for where he would appear.

"Kabo! You're the first ones! Kiss!" everyone heard as the picture on the Lacrima Vision changed to shot of a brunet boy and a blonde girl, both looking extremely nervous. There was an awkward silence before the boy gulped, pulled the girl close and kissed her. Everyone around them cheered and Mato grinned before poofing away and appearing in another location.

It went on like that for a few more couples before the Mato appeared in Lamia Scale's balcony, the camera focused on Sherry and Ren. Sherry jolted in shock but Ren simply took advantage of the situation and kissed his girlfriend in front of all of Fiore to see. The crowd cheered for the two and Mato laughed.

"Excellent, kabo! Onto the next guild!"

The next to suffer from Mato was Sabertooth. The camera focused on Yukino and Rogue. The two looked at each other awkwardly. They didn't want to kiss, but Mato wouldn't leave them alone if they didn't. Finally, Rogue sighed and blew Yukino a kiss. He crossed his arms and looked away. Mato sweat dropped. That was probably the closest he would get with Sabertooth.

"Thank you, kabo! Next guild!"

It went on and on, most of the guild members blowing kisses to their guildmates, feeling awkward about having to kiss them. Finally, the camera landed on Fairy Tail Team B. Elfman froze, having been caught talking to his sister with Evergreen right beside him. Evergreen looked into the camera as well, stiff as a board. Mato grinned mischievously.

"You know the rules, kabo! You have to!" Evergreen took of her glasses as her eyes flowed bright green. Elfman reeled back before he was turned to stone. Evergreen leaned up and smooched him on the cheek. She put her glasses back on and turned to Mato.

"There! That's a kiss!" Mato sweat dropped but had no choice but to accept it. He did a little dance and teleported away.

* * *

The last team to be caught by Mato was Fairy Tail Team A. The camera landed on Natsu and Lucy. The blonde looked nervously between the camera, Natsu and Gray. The raven was simply watching the two wordlessly, although there was clear irritation in his features. Mato jumped and danced on their balcony.

"Come on, you're the last couple! Everyone else kissed! You have to give us one too!" Natsu raised an eyebrow.

"We have to give you a kiss, huh. You'll get one…" Lucy turned to Natsu in shock. Gray was right there!

"Natsu! We can't—"

"But not with who you think."

"Kabo?"

Natsu ran over to Gray, who had been leaning on the wall watching the scene, and pulled him over to the camera with Gray protesting the whole time.

"Hey, Natsu! You can't seriously be doing what I think you are!" Natsu gave Gray a childish grin.

"Don't worry about it Gray! Everything will be fine!" he assured. Gray looked away, blushing. Natsu stopped in front of Mato, holding Gray's hand up for the camera. Lucy awkwardly excused herself from the scene. Mato continued holding on to the camera, albeit in shock. Natsu grinned into the lens.

"Listen up Fiore! I love Gray Fullbuster and he's mine!" he declared, just as he turned back to his lover and kissed him for the entire country to see. Jaws dropped and there was a long silence in the bleachers, just like the when they had come out in front of the guild. The only people talking, or rather cheering, were the members of Fairy Tail.

Slowly, people started clapping until thunderous applause was dominating the stadium. Natsu pulled away from Gray and smiled into the camera before hugging him close. Gray blushed and looked away from the camera. Mato smiled at the pair.

"Alright, kabo! That's all! We hope the sponsors liked it!"

* * *

"I knew it! You all owe me two thousand jewels!" Many groans were heard around the table as the sponsors reached into the pockets and paid up. Someone cursed.

"I thought for sure it would be the blonde!"

"I thought it would be the redhead!"

"Come on, it was obvious that he loved the boy!"

"Shut up!"

* * *

Natsu and Gray sneezed in unison.

"Is someone talking about us?" Gray asked. Wendy smiled up at him.

"I think a lot of people will be talking about you tow, Gray-san." Gray groaned and turned to his impulsive lover.

"Really? On a _live broadcast to all of Fiore_?" Natsu grinned.

"I make good on my promises, Gray," he said. Gray shook his head but he was smiling. Natsu might've been impulsive, brash and arrogant, but Gray loved him like that and he wouldn't have him any other way.

* * *

 **Haha, I had a ton of fun writing this one! My sponsors are such kids XD I hope it suited your prompt Blue Blast and I hope everyone enjoyed it! Drop me a review if you can ^^**

 **By the way, all the spots for requests have been filled up now! All the requests that I got before this chapter have been accepted! Thank you so much for the requests guys! I'll do my best not to disappoint!**


	5. That Time I Nearly Killed Someone

**Hey guys. Sorry this one took longer than the rest. I haven't been feeling very well this past little while so it was kind of hard for me to write. But hopefully that's over and I can get back to writing your prompts. Anyways, today's prompt is from a guest!**

 **Prompt:** **Could you write a where a Natray where they are already together and gray gets injured on a mission**

 **Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, not me!**

 **Read and Review!**

* * *

The job board at Fairy Tail was empty. All the mages sat at tables eagerly waiting for Mirajane to come back with the mail and start posting up job requests. Lucy sighed as she rested her head in her hand.

"I need to pay my rent this month!" she moaned. Wendy smiled at the blonde.

"It's ok Lucy-san, I'm sure Mirajane-san will be back soon."

"I sure hope so."

* * *

Speaking of the devil, literally, Mirajane entered the silent guild and in her arms was a bag stuffed full of letters. Everyone stared intently as the platinum blonde started to take out the mail, humming as she did so, and sorted between complaints from the Magic Council, job requests and personal letters. The entire guild watched in anticipation, to which Mira seemingly ignored.

Every set of eyes watched as Mira pinned up request by request. Finally, when she was done she quickly stepped away to avoid the oncoming mob. It was a riot in front of the request board. Lucy sweat dropped. Seven years away had really taken its toll on some of the guild members. Just then, Erza emerged triumphantly form the second floor of the guild, a piece of paper in her hand.

"Lucy, Wendy, Carla! I found a job for us!" she called. Lucy felt herself perk at the idea of not having to weave through the insanity that was the Fairy Tail guild members at the moment. Those were the benefits of being an S-class mage, she supposed. The three girls met Erza at the foot of the staircase and took the job request.

When Lucy saw what it was, she moaned.

"Defeating a dark guild? Again?" she asked. Erza nodded.

"I thought it would be a good idea to get our magic back up to the level it was at seven years ago." Carla nodded in agreement.

"As much as I don't care for this mission, I have to say that Erza has a point." Lucy sighed in defeat. Looks like they were taking this job then. Wendy looked around the guild.

"Where are Natsu-san and Gray-san?" As if on cue, the guild's resident couple entered, along with Happy, bickering as usual.

"What do you mean it was my turn to make breakfast?! It was obviously your turn, stripper!" Gray scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"I reminded you last night! It was your turn to make breakfast! You even said you would remember, Flame Brain!" The sound of a familiar armoured woman walking up the two had them frozen as they turned to her.

"Are you two _fighting_?" Natsu frantically shook his head as Gray answered the terrifying redhead for them.

"No, ma'am!" Erza seemed to accept the answer and her glare dissipated.

"Good. Now I want you two to get packed. We're taking a job request." Gray and Natsu looked curiously as the flyer that Erza handed to them. Natsu pumped a fist in the air when he read it and Gray grinned.

"Alright, I'm all fired up! C'mon Gray, let's go!"

"Yeah yeah, hold on, Natsu. I'm coming!" Lucy and Wendy smiled as they watched their two friends take off. Carla however, looked a grim. Erza took notice of this and figured that she had had another vision of the future.

"Is something wrong, Carla?" The Exceed looked up and shook her head, but didn't meet Erza's eyes.

"No, it's nothing," she said. But how she felt was completely different.

 _I hope that vision of the future was wrong…_

* * *

Natsu moaned and groaned as the train thundered down the tracks. He was sitting beside Gray, who was kindly letting him use his shoulder as a head rest. Wendy took a look at the poor state of the elder Dragon Slayer and apologized.

"I'm sorry, Natsu-san! Troia's effect weakens every time so I…" Erza placed a hand on Wendy's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it Wendy. Natsu should learn to overcome his weakness!" she exclaimed and Lucy turned over to the nauseous rosette.

"I don't think this is something he can overcome by himself though…"

"Aye!"

They arrived at their location quickly, much to Natsu's relief as he crawled off of the moving death.

"Freedom!" he shouted and Gray laughed beside him.

"First time in seven years that he's been on transportation and he's still sick to his gut. I guess some things never change."

"Come on boys, I'd like to finish this mission as soon as possible so we can get back to training!" Erza shouted. The two picked up their pace and ran over to where the girls were waiting for them.

* * *

"Your rooms are 24 and 25. Thank you and enjoy your stay!" the innkeeper said as he handed Erza two keys. The redhead handed one to Gray.

"We will be staying in room 24. You, Happy and Natsu can have 25." Gray nodded as he twirled the keys around his finger, whistling as he made his way to their room. Natsu and Happy followed him, holding their luggage. Gray unlocked the room and stepped inside, dropping his bag down.

The room wasn't too big, but it was good enough for two teens and a cat. There was one bed, a sofa and a table with a communications lacrima installed on it. The whole room was very standard. Natsu rushed past Gray and flopped onto the comfortable bed.

"Ah, this is great!" he said as he reveled in the softness. Gray rolled his eyes.

"Come on Flame Brain, we have to unpack and meet the girls." The rosette pouted childishly put sat up.

"Hey Happy, do you mind going over to the girls for a minute?" Happy was about to ask why when he caught the glint in Natsu's eyes. Giggling, he flew out of the room and closed it with a click. Gray turned to Natsu, confused.

"Natsu, why'd you—" Gray didn't get to finish his question when he found warm lips pressed against his. Natsu pushed the Gray back so that he fell onto the soft bedding and pinned his lover down. He bit down on Gray's lip lightly and smiled when Gray opened his mouth for him. Natsu continued to kiss Gray senseless as he reveled in his ice mage's unique taste of winter pine and mint. When the rosette finally pulled away, Gray's cheeks were flushed a stunning red and his lips were swollen. Natsu smiled down at him.

"Seven years. It's been seven years since we've done that." Gray smiled as he cupped Natsu's face tenderly.

"I've missed this… It feels like it's been forever," he admitted. Now he realized why Natsu had send Happy out of the room. Natsu had wanted this; just this closeness between the two of them. After being asleep for seven years, they had thought about all the memories that they could have made, all the moments that they could have shared. But now, staring up at his pink haired lover, Gray couldn't find it in himself to care about those seven years that they had lost. All he could think about was Natsu and from the look on Natsu's face, he was thinking similarly.

The mood was instantly lost when a sharp rap on the door jolted them out of their own little world.

"Are you two done yet? Geez, you can make out with each other when we finish the mission!" Lucy said, annoyed. Natsu laughed and pulled Gray up.

"We're coming Lucy, just hold on!"

* * *

The team headed out to the forest after meeting with the mayor to get some more information on the situation. The dark guild's name was Black Shade and they had been in town for a little more than a week. Despite having only been there for such a short amount of time, they had established themselves quickly and had stricken fear into the hearts of all the villagers. The mayor himself had been shaking in his boots when he had sent the request. Erza had looked the man in the eyes and said,

"I swear on the pride of our guild that we will rid you of Black Shade." With that, Team Natsu had moved out.

"Aren't you guys worried? I mean, we aren't as strong as we were seven years ago! What if something goes wrong!" Lucy shouted. Natsu turned back and raised an eyebrow at her.

"It's a little late for that, Lucy. Besides, have some faith! We're Fairy Tail mages!" After a moment's hesitation, Lucy nodded, determined to see the job through. Carla nodded in approval as well, but couldn't help but remember her vision of the future.

 _I hope Natsu is right. For his sake and for Gray's as well._

* * *

The team was walking through the forest when a loud boom shook the earth between the boys and the girls and Exceeds.

"Whoa! What's going on?" Natsu shouted. Erza looked around.

"Who's there?! Show yourself!" Her demand went unheard however, and a wall of ghoulish figures erupted between the two groups. The older mages jolted as they remembered exactly where they had seen that kind of magic once before.

"Master Jose Porla!" Erza breathed. The clack of footsteps from behind Natsu made him turn around. Gray, who noticed his lover's movement, turned as well to find themselves face to face with a man who seemed to be in his late forties.

"Oh? So it seems you've met my older brother. Then you must be Fairy Tail, the guild that defeated him," a brown haired man said. Gray's eyes widened. Their enemy was Jose Porla's younger brother?! Moreover, he was using the same magic as Jose: Shade magic! He had seen just how powerful that magic was when he had seen Erza fight against Jose. Could he and Natsu really take this guy on in their current state? He gulped as Natsu lit his fists on fire.

"Damn right we are! And we're going to kick your ass just like we did your brother!" Gray resisted the urge to slap Natsu. Why didn't that idiot ever think before provoking an enemy?! The brunet laughed and flicked his wrist, sending a couple of shades careening into Natsu's side.

"Natsu!" Gray called out. The rosette simply jumped back on his feet, as if the attack hadn't fazed him. But when Gray say him clutching his side, he knew that the damage had been done and that Natsu's reflexes were not what they had been seven years ago.

"A Fire Dragon Slayer, hmm? Interesting. You think you can beat my shades, little dragon?" Natsu bristled at the condescending tone and Gray clenched his fists, trying to hold himself back from punching the dark mage in his smug mug. "How rude of me, I seem to have forgotten my manners. I am Derick Porla, master of Black Shade," he said as he bowed, mocking the two boys. Gray's patience snapped at the same time that Natsu surged forward and threw flaming punches and kicks, all of which Derick dodged. Gray stayed behind, already in stance.

"Ice Make: Lance!" Gray cursed, noting that the lances that he had created lacked the sharpness and speed that they had had seven years ago. Natsu jumped out of the way quickly and frowned as he watched Gray's lances shatter easily as Derick pit shades against them.

"Is that all you can do fairy dogs?" Natsu bumped his fists together, coating them in searing flames once more.

"Far from it you bastard!" he shouted as he and Gray prepared to attack again.

* * *

"Natsu! Gray! Answer me!" Erza shouted as she backed up close to the shade wall. There had been no sign of the two boys and soon after the wall had been erected, their group had been ambushed by the guild's members. Lucy had called out Loke and Wendy was helping out as well, having casted support magic on the group. Erza wanted to send Happy or Carla to check on Gray and Natsu, but she didn't dare risk it, especially since the wall separating them was made out of shades, something that could easily reach out and attack the two Exceeds. Erza tightened her grip on her sword. She would just have to hope that the boys could take down the master.

* * *

Natsu struggled as he was immobilized by the shades wrapped around his arms, legs and waist. Gray was in a similar dilemma. Derick smiled as he walked casually in front of his two prisoners.

"What, that's it? I was expecting more from the guild that defeated my big brother." Natsu and Gray both scowled down at him. Derick pretended not to notice and strode up to Gray. "Really, I was having so much fun," he said as he used a finger to tilt Gray's chin up. Natsu thrashed violently in his bonds.

"Don't fucking touch him!" he roared. Derick raised an eyebrow and looked from Natsu to Gray.

"Oh I see, is he your lover, dragon boy?" Natsu's continued growls were all the answers he needed. Derick through his head back and roared with maniacal laughter. "Oh that's adorable. I wonder what would happen if something were to happen to your lover…" Derick trailed off. The shades trapping Gray tightened and the raven let out a choked cry. Natsu's thrashing continued as he tried to activate his magic and turn the shades holding him to ashes.

"Don't fucking touch Gray! I'll fucking kill you!" he screamed as he watched his raven haired lover get tortured by Derick's shades. The dark mage grinned as one of the shades around Gray's waist opened its jaws wide, positioned over Gray's hip where the cross shaped scar lay. Gray gulped as he realized what was about to happen. With Derick's evil grin as the only instigator, the shade sank its jaws into Gray.

Everything stopped in that moment. Natsu's shouting died as he watched Gray's eyes widen. Derick's grin widened and he flicked his wrist, allowing the shades holding Gray to disperse back into the shade wall. The ice mage fell to the floor with a thump, hands clutching his profusely bleeding wound. He hadn't expected the shade to have teeth like it did, but the fangs had been sharp like knives and pierced through his flesh like an arrow would air. His hands were stained red with his blood and he would've frozen his wound had they not been shaking like crazy. He was probably going into shock, if the convulsions wracking his body were anything to go by. Shit.

Natsu watched in silence as his lover fell to the floor and a puddle of red began to form underneath him. His mouth opened and closed uselessly as he tried to comprehend the sight in front of him. Gray, his Gray, was bleeding to death while he watched helplessly. Derick cackled as he watched Natsu's expression go through ten different emotions in the blink of an eye.

"That's a good look you have there, Dragon Slayer!" he laughed. Natsu's features contorted in rage as fire and lightning rose crackled and churned around him. Derick took a step back, not having expected this. The magic continued to grow until the ghouls squirmed in apparent discomfort. Derick backed up more, away from the furious dragon. "That's impossible! Shades are unaffected by magic!" With a defiant roar, the shades burned to nothing and Natsu landed on the ground, fangs pointed and a murderous glare directed at the master.

"Burn in hell," Natsu seethed as Derick was consumed in dragonfire. The man screamed and cried in agony but Natsu paid him no heed, only dropping to his knees in front of his bleeding lover and trying to staunch the bleeding. Gray was shaking and gulping lungfuls of air, trying to calm down.

"Haah… ahh…" he gasped out. Natsu clenched his teeth as the iron filled scent plagued his nostrils.

"Fuck… just hang on Gray, hang on! Wendy will be here in a second!"

* * *

It felt like an eternity before Derick fell unconscious and the shade wall dispersed. Erza, Lucy, Wendy and the two Exceeds rushed over the fallen bodies of the Black Shade guild members as they hurried to the boys.

Carla gasped as she stared at the scene in front of her. Her vision of the future from the guild… it was coming true! She turned away, not daring to say a word. How could she when she could have warned them earlier?

"Wendy! Please, Wendy, help Gray!" Natsu shouted, his eyes starting to tear as he watched his lover in pain. Wendy dropped to her knees and hastily placed her hands over Gray's wound. A pale green glow surrounded her palms and Gray's breathing hitched for a moment as he let the magic wash over him.

Natsu's strength seemed to leave him as he fell hard onto the ground, his palms his only support. He watched as the droopy blue eyes that he loved so much hide behind pale eyelids as Gray fell asleep, mentally and physically exhausted. Lucy placed a reassuring hand on Natsu's shoulder.

"He's ok, Natsu. Don't worry." Natsu huffed out a shaky breath.

"Yeah… I know, Lucy. Thanks." Erza looked down at the burned body at her feet.

"Natsu, did you do this?" she demanded. Natsu turned around to see what Erza was talking about. He gulped when he saw the blackened skin and the blood.

"I-Is he…" Natsu couldn't finish his sentence. Erza sighed.

"No, he's still alive. Just barely though. Now answer my question, Natsu."

"…Yes." Lucy sucked in a breath and Wendy flinched. Erza crossed her arms.

"Natsu, what happened here?" With his head down, not daring to meet anybody's gaze, Natsu recounted what had happened after they had been separated.

* * *

Gray blinked tiredly as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Looking around, he noticed that he was in a bed and that his friends were all sprawled over various pieces of furniture in the room. Natsu however, was slumped over his bed, his calloused hands clutching Gray's like a lifeline. Gray smiled down fondly at him and carded his free hand through Natsu's hair. The Dragon Slayer's nose scrunched cutely and Gray stifled a laugh. The small noise was enough to rouse Natsu from his sleep.

"Gray! You're up!" Following Natsu's shout, everyone else in the room jolted awake. Smiles broke out on the team's faces when they saw that Gray was awake.

"Gray! Thank goodness!" Lucy exclaimed. Happy jumped onto the bed and gave the ice mage a hug to which he happily returned.

"Hey guys. Sorry for worrying you," he said. Erza smiled.

"We're all just glad you're awake."

"Gray-san, how is your injury?" Wendy asked. Gray looked down to his bandaged side.

"It doesn't hurt as much anymore. Thanks Wendy," he said. The bluenette smiled happily.

"I'm glad." Erza clapped her hands together.

"Alright everyone, we need to leave. Natsu has something he needs to tell Gray. Don't you Natsu?" Gray watched his rosette flinch and nod. Gray raised an eyebrow at the action but said nothing as the rest of Team Natsu filed out of the room.

There was a long silence before Natsu finally gained the courage to speak.

"I… I almost killed someone," he admitted. Gray sucked in a breath sharply. Natsu, _his_ Natsu, had almost killed someone? Impossible! "It was Derick. I kind of lost it when he hurt you. I'm dangerous, Gray." The raven's eyes softened as he pulled Natsu's head into a hug, although his side protested at the movement.

"But he's alright isn't he? You didn't kill him." The rosette roughly shook himself out of Gray's hold.

"You don't get it! I'm too protective over you! Even to the point where I don't care if I hurt other people! There's a problem with that and you can't tell me otherwise!" Gray reached up and carded his hand through Natsu's soft pink locks.

"I don't care about any of that. I don't care about who you've killed or who you've saved or any of that stuff. You'll always be my Natsu, no matter what." Natsu's cheeks darkened as he looked away.

"I don't deserve that," he mumbled before leaning forward and capturing Gray's lips in a kiss. Natsu gripped the back of Gray's head tightly, as if afraid that the raven would take back his words and run away from him. Gray took notice and grabbed onto Natsu's vest, fisting it in his hands as his lover kissed him senseless.

Gray didn't dare pull away first, lest Natsu take it the wrong way, so he let the rosette do whatever he liked. Natsu finally pulled away and gently pushed him back down onto his bed.

"Sleep. You aren't completely better yet. I'll tell the girls, so just rest." Gray laughed.

"Don't tell me what to do, Flame Brain. I know what I'm doing," he said, although he yawned halfway through his sentence and felt his eyelids threatening to drop. Natsu didn't miss the action and simply smiled.

"Sure, Frost Breath. Whatever you say." Within seconds, Gray's breath had evened out and he had fallen asleep again. Natsu gently kissed the scar on Gray's forehead. He thought back to what Gray had said.

 _"I don't care about any of that. I don't care about who you've killed or who you've saved or any of that stuff. You'll always be my Natsu, no matter what."_

Natsu smiled. It didn't matter if he was a monster or a demon. If Gray would still love him through it all, then that was all he needed.

* * *

 **Scar tissue actually only has 80% of the strength of normal skin. I read it in an article somewhere**

 **And yeah, I created Derick. Shade magic is real though!**

 **Well that's it! I actually have no idea what happened with the end... it didn't start out like this. But I liked where it was going so I went with it. That said, I hope you liked it guest :) Hope everyone else enjoyed it too! Thanks to everyone who reviewed/favourited/followed! You guys are great :D**


	6. That Time You Hypnotized Me

**Hey guys! Here's chapter 6! This prompt was given to me by anonymous person!**

 **Prompt:** **How about HYPNOSIS?!You know like Gray somehow find a mind controlling spell and he use it on then their position switch(like a master/servant relationship) and there's going to have lots of sexy times... O/O**

 **This was really hard to write O.o I've never written anything even mildly close to M so my whole thought process was "? Does this work this way? Am I doing this right? How does this work? What even is writing?!" Haha, I tried? Also, no lemons from me. I'm not too comfortable writing them.**

 ** _THIS CHAPTER IS RATED M BECAUSE IT MIGHT BE LIKE I DON'T KNOW BUT I'LL RATE IT M ANYWAY. SOFT M LET'S GO WITH THAT_**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.**

 **Read and Review!**

* * *

"Thank you very much for finding my darling Poochiekins!" the woman exclaimed as the dog at Natsu's feet eagerly raced towards her master and licked her face. Gray sweatdropped at the sight. The job had been to find the dog and return it to the owner. If the dog loved it owner as much as it did, if the licking was anything to judge by, why did it run away in the first place? The woman laughed as she hoisted the dog into her arms. Natsu's eyebrow twitched.

"So… about our reward…" Gray started. The woman put a hand over her mouth in surprise.

"Oh that's right! Hold on boys, I'll grab it for you in a minute. Come on, Poochiekins!" she called as the dog barked enthusiastically and followed the woman into the house.

She reappeared a moment later with a book in her hand.

"Here you are boys. One book about magic spells." Gray graciously accepted it and thanked the woman. She smiled and sent the two off.

"Man, that was way more annoying than I thought it would be," Natsu complained as he walked alongside Gray down the dirt road.

"Well the dog _did_ take a piss on you more than a couple of times…" Gray laughed. Natsu pouted at his lover.

"Grayyyy. Why are you so mean to me?"

"Haha, I don't know what you're talking about, Flame Brain." The playful banter continued all the way down to the train station.

* * *

"Urk!" Natsu moaned as his cheeks swelled and he covered his mouth with his hands. Gray sighed. As long as he had known him, Gray would _never_ get used to the irrational motion sickness that Natsu had.

"Natsu, face this way," he ordered. His nauseous lover did as he was told and was promptly knocked out by a punch in the gut. Natsu fell over and landed in Gray's lap. Gray sighed and carded his hand through Natsu's soft pink locks absentmindedly.

A while later, Gray's gaze moved from his pallid lover to the book that they hand gotten as a reward. Levy had asked them to get it for her, since Natsu has been wanting to take a mission with Gray for a long time. She had said that the spells were ancient and had no idea what they did. She had been curious and had asked the two as a favour. Natsu of course, had eagerly agreed. Even though the job was more than 4 hours away by train. Gray shook his head as he cracked open the spell book. His ash for brains idiot never thought things through did he? He smiled fondly down at the sluggish form in his lap. Even so, he wouldn't be his Natsu if he wasn't a brash pyromaniac.

To say that Gray wasn't curious about the contents of the books as well would be a lie. Before he gave it to Levy, he wanted to try out at least one spell. He flipped to a random page and squinted his eyes in an attempt to read the words written neatly on the page. Thank goodness he had gotten Levy to teach him a little bit before taking the mission.

" _Afrat igsun desploret_ ," he read. He didn't know what he had expected, but it certainly wasn't for the words to peel away from the page and levitate in front of him. Gray watched curiously as the words spun in a circle, only to break away and disappear into Natsu's head. Gray's eyes widened as he stared at the book, only for him to come face to face with a blank page. He gulped.

 _Oh fuck, what did I do to Natsu?!_

Natsu didn't stir for the entire train ride back. It made Gray extremely anxious, not knowing what he had done to his lover. What if he had erased all of Natsu's memories? What if he had changed his personality?! There was no end to the possibilities running through Gray's mind and each one was worse than the previous.

Finally, the train stopped at Magnolia station. Gray quickly packed everything up and shook Natsu awake.

"Hey Natsu, wake up. We're here. Natsu!" The rosette grumbled a bit before opening his eyes. Gray gulped. Moment of truth. What had he done to Natsu? Natsu blinked at Gray before bowing down low and giving the raven a gentlemanly smile.

"Good afternoon, Gray-sama. What can I do for you?" Gray dropped everything he was holding, his mind a flurry of confusion and shock.

 _WHAT?!_

* * *

"Well Gray, of all the spells you could've read out loud, you picked the mind control one," Levy deadpanned. Gray buried his head in his hands out of both shame and embarrassment; shame for being so stupid and embarrassment for… well what Natsu was doing.

"Gray-sama, do you need anything? How about a back rub? A glass of water? Food?" Gray groaned. Why oh why did he read that stupid spell?! Gajeel smirked.

"Gihi! It's kind of funny to see Salamander acting like this," he remarked. Levy smacked him.

"Don't say that Gajeel! We need to find out how to get him back to normal!" Laxus grinned from where he sat.

"I don't know. Let's leave him like this for a little while. It's amusing." Mirajana turned from the bar.

"Laxus! We can't do that!" she scolded. Levy crossed her arms and frowned, deep in thought.

"We say that… but I need time to figure out how to cure him. I don't have to original spell with me; all I have is what Gray told me he said." She and Gray both sighed. Who knew how long it would be until Natsu was back to normal. Natsu took Gray's sighing as a bad sign.

"Gray-sama, what's wrong? Do you need a hot bath? Just say the word and I'll happily get it for you!" Gray slumped down onto the table. Just then Juvia walked into the guild. At that same moment, Gray's stomach rumbled. Natsu perked up happily.

"Ah, Gray-sama, you're hungry! Please wait, I'll grab you something to eat!" With that, the Dragon Slayer bounded away towards the bar. Juvia's eyes bugged as she walked up to Gray.

"Umm… Gray-sama? Why is Natsu-san calling Gray-sama 'Gray-sama'?" Lucy laughed awkwardly and steered Juvia away from the raven.

"It's a long story, Juvia," she said as she began explaining.

Natsu returned happily with a heaping plate of food. He sat down happily in front of Gray and stuck his fork into some of it. He held it out in front of Gray's mouth.

"As your slave, it is only right that I feed you, Gray-sama," he declared. Gray's eyebrow twitched.

"You know what? If it's going to be like this, I might as well." Gray opened his mouth and let Natsu feed him. When the food was done, Gray turned to Natsu.

"Natsu, carry me home," he ordered. Natsu happily jumped to his feet.

"As you wish, Gray-sama!" he exclaimed happily as he picked Gray up and raced back to Gray's house. The guild sweatdropped. When Natsu was back to normal, he was going to kill Gray.

* * *

Natsu carefully set his master down on a chair. Gray smiled. He initially hadn't liked the idea of taking control of Natsu this way, but it might be a little fun.

"Take my shoes off and give me a foot massage." Natsu looked up eagerly and set about to doing it.

"Of course, Gray-sama!" Gray leaned back and relaxed. For the rest of the night, Natsu was at his beck and call. Whenever he wanted something, all he had to do was ask and Natsu would fetch it for him without so much as a complaint. Gray laughed. He was surrounded by food and luxuries and Natsu was currently giving him a massage. He could get used to this.

Natsu finished putting away all the food just as Gray wrapped his arms around Natsu's waist from behind.

"Gray-sama?" he asked. Gray nibbled on Natsu's neck eliciting a moan from the Dragon Slayer.

"Natsu, do you trust me?" he asked. Gray gently removed Natsu's scarf and planted kisses down Natsu's neck and he felt his lover turned slave shiver under his touch. He grinned as his hands wandered lower and he tugged on the hem of Natsu's pants.

"G-Gray-sama, what are you—" Gray cut Natsu off by grazing his teeth over Natsu's scar. Natsu threw his head back and moaned, his knees threatening to buckle just from Gray's kisses.

"You didn't answer me, Natsu. Do you trust me?"

"Y-Yes, Gray-sama," he stuttered. Gray grinned and turned Natsu around to face him and smashed their lips together. Natsu's eyes widened then closed as he let Gray do whatever he pleased. The raven grinned as he scooped Natsu up in his arms, never once breaking their kiss. Gray carried Natsu up the stairs into his bedroom. The door slammed shut with a bang and things continued on from there.

* * *

Gray was awakened by a knock at his door. Yawning, he got dressed and went downstairs, leaving Natsu sleeping in his bed.

"Gray! Good morning!" Levy greeted. Gajeel leaned against his doorframe and grunted in acknowledgement. Gray yawned again.

"Morning Gajeel, Levy. What brings you guys here?" Levy peeked into the house.

"Can we take you outside for a second, Gray? I don't want to wake Natsu up." Gray shrugged and closed his door behind him. Gajeel sniffed the air and grinned.

"Smells like you two had fun last night," he said. Gray blushed and kicked Gajeel in the shin. Levy coughed into her fist, her cheeks red as well.

"Gray, I came to tell you that the spell wears off in twenty four hours. You don't have to do anything, this spell just had a set time limit from the start. Also, Natsu knows everything that you made him do," Levy said. Gray paled and Gajeel burst into laughter. He slapped Gray on the back.

"Good luck, Snowflake! Salamander is going to kill you when he finds out!" Gray gulped and thought back to when he had cast the spell. He and Natsu had returned the dog to its owner around noon. They had taken the train back right after that so Gray had probably cast the spell around 12:30.

"H-Hey… do you guys know what time it is?" he asked nervously.

"It's almost noon," Levy informed. Gray whipped his head around and looked at his house nervously. Gajeel perked up and grinned at the other raven.

"Gihi, looks like Salamander just woke up." Gray shivered. Without a second thought, he turned from his house and bolted as far away as he could, leaving Levy and Gajeel in his dust.

"Do you think Gray is going to be ok?" Levy asked as she looked up to meet Gajeel's gaze. The Iron Dragon Slayer shrugged.

"Who knows? All I know, Shrimp, is that when Salamander snaps out of it, Snowflake probably isn't going to be moving for a while," he grinned. Levy blushed and smacked Gajeel for being so perverted.

* * *

Gray tore down the streets of Magnolia, being careful to avoid passersby. He glanced up at the clock. It was 12:20.

 _Oh shit, I need to hide somewhere! But where the hell can I hide from a Dragon Slayer?!_

Eventually, he settled on just running as far away as he could. Another ten minutes passed and Gray heard an explosion from far behind him. Gray gulped. Looks like the spell wore off. Even though he was exhausted as hell, he forced himself to pick up the pace. Natsu was going to kill him if he caught him!

After another five minutes, Gray stopped and hid behind a tree to catch his breath. He had been running for half an hour straight. Even if he had good endurance, it normally didn't call for this! As he was catching his breath, he heard footsteps slow to halt in front of his tree. Gray gulped. He was so fucked. The tree was falling over in a second and Gray had to jump to avoid being pinned under it. However, that didn't help because just as he jumped away, he was pounced on and pinned to the ground by a familiar rosette.

"H-Hi, Natsu. What brings you here?" Natsu forced a smile.

"'Gray-sama', huh?" Gray's face paled.

"H-Hey, Natsu, let's talk this out!" he pleaded. Natsu closed his eyes and his eyebrow twitched, betraying his cheerful smile.

"You made me do all that shit for you…" he began and Gray squirmed underneath him, struggling to break free but failing. "…and then you ran away. I think you've been a bad master, 'Gray-sama'." Gray gulped.

"N-Natsu…"

"Bad masters are in need of punishment. By the time I'm done with you…" Natsu leaned down and bit the tip of Gray's ear lightly, earning him a heated blush from the raven. He released Gray's ear only for him to whisper into it, quiet, promising and sultry. "You won't be able to move for a week."

* * *

A week later, Natsu walked in with a limping Gray. Gajeel grinned and leaned over to Levy, who was sitting beside him.

"What'd I tell you, Shrimp?" Gray grumbled as he shot a look at Levy and the book that was in front of her. It was all because of that damned book.

"Not fucking worth it," he grumbled. Natsu grinned.

"Are you kidding? It was _so_ fucking worth it."

"Shut up, Flame Brain." Gray scowled as he crossed his arms. He had learned his lesson. _Never_ mess with weird magic books!

* * *

 **I don't even know. Don't even ask. I've never written ANYTHING like this... I'm pretty sure this isn't even what you wanted, anonymous person. Even so, I hope you enjoyed it! Everyone else too! Let me know how I did?**


	7. That Time You Were Taken From Me

**Ahh it's finally done! I'm so sorry it took so long guys! But I'm back and I come bearing a torture oneshot!**

 **Prompt: I would love to see hurt!Gray (non-con, torture...) and protective Natsu.**

 **My inner sadist was awakened with this one and that was why it took so long, sorry XD It's also why this is so long O.o This prompt was by a guest and I hope everyone likes it! This one actually required so much research.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does**

 **Read and review!**

* * *

It had been on his way back from a job. He had taken a solo job ridding a town of monsters. He was only supposed to be gone for a day. On his way back, he had been walking alone in the forest when he had felt something prick his arm. He had looked over and found a dart sticking out of his upper arm. He had moved to pull it out when his vision had faded to black.

When he had woken up shirtless with his feet chained to what he presumed was a cell wall. The room he was in was completely dark, not a window in sight. His hands had been encased in a stock which left little freedom. He had tried time and time again to use his magic and summon forth even just a chilly fog but even that had failed: the chains were made of magic seal stone and the wooden block was likely mixed with some as well. He had passed out right after the attempt, the drug still in his system. He had woken up a couple more times after that, but he had no idea how long he had been out for each of those times. Gray coughed and winced at his dry throat. How long had it been since they had given him water? In fact, how long had it been since he was captured? Probably less than three days if he was still alive, but to his dehydrated mind, it felt like decades. His wooden cell door creaked open and he was faced with a blond man.

The blond was likely in his mid-thirties. His eyes were a cold blue that reminded Gray of his own ice magic. He kept his head down as the man entered the room and pulled him up by his hair.

"Gray Fullbuster. It seems you're finally awake. I suppose you don't know why you're here. After all, the drug that we gave you was quite potent. All we want is a little information about your precious boyfriend." Gray groaned and coughed, his dry throat pleading with him not to speak. The blond scoffed. "What? Are you dying on me, lover boy?" When Gray didn't respond, the blond clicked his tongue and released him. Gray's head fell back down onto the floor, his body too weak to keep himself up. A blue haired woman passed by and opened the door to his private hell, peering inside with interest.

"What's the matter, Clovis? Can't get the fairy trash to spill?"

"Shut up Ailla. He can barely talk. Grab me some water." The person named Ailla stepped into the cell, her heels making a sharp clack noise on the stone floor.

"You're spoiling him. He's not going to talk if you're so nice."

"And he's going to die if we don't give him some water. Don't you want to take revenge on the Salamander?" Ailla frowned but exited the dark cell.

Ailla returned a few minutes later, a dish with water in her hand. She set it down in front of Gray.

"Drink up, Fairy Tail dog." Gray, who had been lying on the floor, weakly pushed himself up and managed to crawl over to where the water was set down in front of him. He let the cool water wash down his throat, bringing him instant relief. He didn't even care that he was on the ground drinking from a dish like an animal.

He was about a quarter of the way done when the water was snatched away from him. Gray looked up to see Ailla holding his dish of water.

"That's enough. Clovis, hurry up and start," she commanded as she turned on her heel, left and let the heavy cell door swing closed. Clovis knelt down in front of Gray.

"Let's get down to business. What are Natsu Dragneel's weaknesses?"

"As if I'm going to sell out Natsu!" Gray was rewarded for his outburst by a kick to the head. Gray's vision swam as he glared up at the man towering over his prone form.

"I'll ask again. What are Natsu Dragneel's weaknesses?" Clovis asked, pinning Gray with a merciless glare. With some difficulty, Gray answered.

"Go… to hell!" Another kick to the head. Gray groaned and moved onto his side and brought his restrained arms up and over his head as a weak attempt at protection. Clovis walked to his side, boots pointing towards Gray's exposed stomach.

"What is the source of his power?" Gray gave no response, too dazed to say a thing. Clovis kicked Gray in the gut and the wounded raven gave a choked gasp, the air in his lungs effectively knocked out. Clovis continued, stopping sometimes to repeat a question. Each time, Gray either swore at the man or didn't answer. Clovis never questioned his behaviour and continued with his kicks. It was only when Gray passed out that Clovis stopped. On his way out, he gave the raven one last kick to the head. Gray's head snapped back and a cut made from the boot on his forehead began to bleed, the blood travelling down onto the cold stone floor. The cell door closed firmly leaving Gray's unconscious form enshrouded in darkness.

* * *

"WHERE IS HE?!" Natsu roared. It was already well into the evening. Gray was supposed to be back _hours_ ago. Lucy stepped forward in an attempt to placate the raging Dragon Slayer.

"I'm sure Gray just got held up. He'll come walking in the door any time now!"

"Lucy's right. I'm sure Gray is fine. He can take care of himself," Erza added. Natsu growled in at them.

"If he's not back by tomorrow, nothing's going to stop me from finding him."

* * *

Gray woke up to a sharp pain in his chest. His eyes snapped open and he found himself being hung by magic seal stone chains from his cell's ceiling. He looked back down to find the girl named Ailla looking at him, hefting a whip in her hands. Gray gulped as he braced himself for another painful impact. The sharp crack of the whip as it smacked against his chest made him gasp. Ailla smiled as she took in the angry red mark that decorated Gray's pale skin.

"I'm sure you've already heard this question, but what are Natsu Dragneel's weaknesses?" Gray coughed more than he breathed, his entire body laced with pain.

"I already said… I won't sell out Natsu!" he shouted defiantly. Ailla gripped her whip and let it hit Gray again, causing him to grit his teeth and grunt. The torture continued, Ailla asking questions and lashing Gray with her whip when he refused to answer. Gray didn't know how long it was, but Ailla eventually stopped and crossed her arms.

"You're too stubborn for your own good, Gray Fullbuster. Just sell out your boyfriend and save yourself." Gray struggled to meet her gaze, his entire body screaming for him not to move as his muscles ached and his vision turned the once clear figure of the girl in the room into a distorted image.

"W-Why… do you want him so badly?" Ailla's expression turned livid.

"He humiliated me. Me and Clovis both." She raised her whip again and Gray looked away, grunting every time the harsh whip made contact with tender flesh. It wasn't long before he passed out from the pain and blood loss.

* * *

"WHY THE FUCK ISN'T HE BACK YET?!" Natsu screamed. Erza had to hold Natsu back, her arms tucked underneath his armpits as she struggled to keep him from running off.

"Calm down, Natsu! Running all over Fiore won't do anything!" she reasoned. Natsu squirmed, trying to tear himself from Erza's hold.

"It's better than sitting here doing nothing to find him! What if he's hurt, Erza?!" Erza glared at him.

"Are you saying that Gray can't handle himself, Natsu? I thought you trusted him more than that!"

"And I thought you two were friends and you cared about one another but I guess I was wrong!" A harsh slapping noise echoed through the guild, rendering everyone silent. Natsu held his now pink cheek tenderly as he turned around to face the Erza. The mighty Titania had tears in her eyes.

"How dare you. Gray is my best friend! I'm just as concerned as you are for him!" Natsu immediately felt guilty for accusing Erza of not caring.

"Erza, I'm sorry…" It was then that Lucy decided to intervene.

"Come on guys, cheer up! Gray will be fine!" Natsu chose to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach that something was wrong and forced himself to smile a smile too wide and too happy.

"You're right Lucy. I'm sure Gray is ok."

* * *

Another day passed by in the dark for Gray. Ailla had taken him down after the whipping session and he lay on the ground again, feet shackled and hands locked in a stock. He shifted on the ground and subsequently moaned at the paint he action brought. How much longer would he have to hold out? Where was Natsu and his guild? As if on cue, the door opened. Gray weakly lifted his head up, hope shining in his eyes that it was his lover, only for it to fall back down, disappointed when he was greeted with Clovis. Just before the door closed, he caught saw light glint off of something in Clovis' hand. Gray gulped as he realized what Clovis had brought with him for today's session. The blond twirled the small knife he held in his hand. He walked up to the prone raven on the floor and dragged the knife's tip over Gray's upper arm, cutting into the pale flesh easily. The ice mage hissed in pain and curled in on himself. Clovis frowned and moved to Gray's hands. Midnight blue eyes widened in fear.

"N-No… don't!" But of course, his torturer didn't listen as he stabbed the blade through Gray's left hand. Gray screamed out his agony as his body shook and the blood dripped out of the new wound in his hand. Gray felt his heart drop to his stomach. He molded ice with his hands. Without the use of them he couldn't perform magic!

"All you need to tell us is how to kill Natsu Dragneel. All this will stop once you tell us." The knife moved to hover over Gray's right hand. Gray shrunk back, trying to put as much space between him and Clovis as possible only for Clovis to stomp down on the upper arm that he had just lacerated. Gray blinked away the tears in his eyes and looked away, bracing himself. Clovis sighed in disappointment as he ran the knife through Gray's hand and listened to the raven scream.

"He isn't coming for you," Clovis stated when he finished his torture session. Gray was left weak and bloody, his body reaching its limit, but he still flinched, one of his darkest fears since having been capture revealed.

"L-Like hell he isn't! Natsu will come! I know it!"

"Then why isn't he here yet? He has his enhanced hearing and sense of smell. Why hasn't he come for you?" Gray paused as he began to think about what Clovis had said. Why _hadn't_ Natsu found him yet? With the Dragon Slayer's heightened senses, finding him shouldn't be a problem. And yet…

"Think hard on it. Does this man truly deserve your loyalty?" Gray was left with that thought as the door swung shut and he was left in the darkness.

* * *

"Natsu! Do you smell anything?!" Natsu growled as he sniffed the air for the umpteenth time.

"No, I don't Lucy!" he snarled, letting his irritation seep into his voice. Lucy flinched back and Erza glared at him. Natsu however, did not shrink back. He was too angry to be afraid of Erza. Gray hadn't come back from a day long job after three days. Natsu gnashed his teeth. He should've gone with him!

Lucy watched as Natsu's expression darkened. She sighed.

"Come on Natsu, let's ask around. We'll see if anyone has seen him." Natsu growled but turned to follow the celestial spirit mage.

 _Please… wherever you are Gray, just be safe._

* * *

Two days had passed in complete darkness. Gray was rocking back and forth on the spot, the stock and bound his hands over his scarred knees. The midnight blue eyes were wide and bloodshot, as if afraid to blink. What time was it? Day? Or was it night? Gray did not know. When was the last time he had eaten something or drunken something? Gray did not know. All he knew was that he was scared and that he wanted the light. He _loathed_ the suffocating darkness.

A sudden click from the door made his head snap up. Ailla walked in, holding another dish of water. When she cast her gaze on her prisoner, her eyes filled with pity.

"He's not coming for you. He doesn't love you." Who? Who was she talking about?

"Just tell us what you know. That's all we ask." But what did he know? Ailla sighed as she realized that this was getting her nowhere. Her captive was too far gone to even understand. She doubted if he was even sane anymore. She set the dish down in front of Gray, who flinched away from her as if afraid she was going to touch him.

"He won't come for you, Gray Fullbuster. Natsu Dragneel has forgotten about you." Gray's eyes widened as the door shut and left him in the darkness again. Gray lowered his head into his knees and screamed.

* * *

Clovis walked around town, a bag of groceries in his hands. He and Ailla had kept Gray Fullbuster with them for about a week now. The last time Clovis had gone into Gray's cell, the raven had been screaming and crying, going absolutely insane. Clovis had quickly left and gone to inform Ailla of his findings. He grabbed an apple from his bag and took a bite. Where in the world was Natsu Dragneel? Surely he hadn't abandoned his lover.

As if summoned by his thoughts, just as he turned the corner, he passed by three Fairy Tail mages, one of which was Natsu. He gulped as he walked by them carefully. Suddenly, quick as lightning, there was a hand choking him and holding him up against a brick wall. The bag of groceries in his hands dropped to the ground, forgotten in the face of this attack. Clovis brought his hands up and clawed at the strong arm holding him up.

"Natsu! What are you doing?! Put him down this instant!" a redhead shouted. A blonde stood off to the side, her brown eyes wide.

"Where is he?" Natsu growled out. Clovis' eyes widened. How did he know?! Natsu snarled. "Stop wasting my time! You smell like Gray so where is he?! What have you done with him?!" Clovis had no choice if he wanted to live.

 _Sorry Ailla… this was a foolish idea from the start. We should never have taken that which was precious to a dragon._

Clovis weakly pointed a finger east.

"Five hundred meters down you should run into an old pub called 'Tavern Clove'. If you go inside, the third table from the left has a button underneath it. Press it and some stairs should appear. Go down those. From there, your nose should tell you the way." Natsu growled at him, trying to read him and see if he was really telling them the truth or if he was sending them on a wild goose chase. Erza however, seemed to have already made her assessment.

"Come, Natsu. Gray is waiting for you." The Dragon Slayer turned, but not before delivering a flaming punch to Clovis' left cheek, rendering him unconscious.

"Let's go."

* * *

Within minutes, the team was inside. A blue haired woman turned from the behind a bar counter and smiled at them.

"Welcome, how can I help you?" Natsu's onyx eyes narrowed in rage as he pounced. The blue haired girl's eyes widened before blasting him back with snow magic.

"Salamander, huh? It's about time," she said. Natsu stood and let his flames lick hungrily over his skin.

"Yeah? And who are you?" The girl's beautiful features contorted with rage.

"You don't remember me?! Me, who suffered that humiliating defeat at your hands?! I'm Ailla Transvlena! You defeated me three years ago!" Natsu turned back to the girls who were standing behind him, watching the duel.

"You two go and find Gray. I'll come down once I'm done here." Lucy was about to open her mouth the protest but Erza nodded quickly.

"Understood. Come on Lucy." Erza walked over to the table Clovis had told them about and felt around the bottom for a button. Sure enough, when Erza pressed it, a magic circle appeared on the floor and the floorboards melted away. Lucy and Erza quickly went down the steps, intent on finding their missing friend.

Natsu turned to Ailla.

"You didn't stop them."

"I have no need to. I got what I wanted and it was a chance to kill you!" Natsu scowled as his flames burned hungrily.

"You can always try." Ailla scoffed.

"I'll do more than that. Your little boyfriend was of no use though, unfortunately. Quite the tightlipped one, that Gray Fullbuster." Natsu's eyes widened.

"You bitch," he seethed as he launched himself forward, his body coated with this hottest flames he had ever created. Ailla took a step back, already unnerved. Natsu Dragneel was nothing like he had been three years ago! Natsu threw a punch forward and Ailla jolted herself out of her fear and jumped to the side, missing the attack by a hair. The glass bottles that were behind her fell and shattered, coating the floor in alcohol. Ailla looked down and cursed. When she looked back up, the Dragon Slayer was already in front of her, flames ready to ignite at his word. She had lost.

"Damn you! What the hell is wrong with you! You're a monster!" she screamed hysterically. Natsu's eyes narrowed.

"Even if I'm a monster, it doesn't matter to me. You took away someone precious to me and for that you're going to pay."

* * *

Erza and Lucy ran down the dimly lit hall. They had had no idea where to start looking so they had simply burst into every room. So far, they had had no luck finding the ice mage. Erza cursed and wished that she had been the one to stay behind and fight Ailla, since Natsu's superb sense of smell was obviously needed to find the raven. Lucy caught up to Erza and gave her a reassuring smile.

"We'll find him, Erza. Look there's a door ahead of us!" True enough, Erza looked back up and found a wooden door in front of her. Quickly, she charged forward and kicked the door down. A figure in the dark flinched at the sudden light. Erza gasped and from beside her, she heard Lucy do the same. They had found Gray…

…but it looked like they were too late to save him.

* * *

Natsu followed after the scent of the two girls. He had finished dealing with Ailla and the authorities had taken her after they had arrived on the scene due to a complaint from a citizen. Natsu perked as he felt a familiar winter pine smell flood his nostrils. Gray! He picked up his pace and say Erza and Lucy standing in a doorway. He wondered what they were doing just standing there. He burst into the small room.

"Gray!" he shouted. However, his cheerful mood instantly left him when he laid eyes on the ice mage on the ground.

Gray was trembling and was covered in multiple lacerations and bruises. The chains that held his ice mage's legs to the cell wall clanked as he shifted and tried to move himself further away from them. Natsu took a step forward and the raven flinched hard.

"S-Stay away! Don't touch me!" he screamed. Natsu jolted and stopped where he was. Instead, he tried talking to Gray.

"G-Gray, It's me. Natsu. I came for you," he said softly. However, his words did not have the desired effect. Gray curled in on himself, hiding even more of himself away from them.

"N-No… Natsu… forgot… doesn't care," Gray stuttered out. Natsu was shocked into silence. What had Gray been forced to endure for his sake? Erza took a step forward and tried to soothe the raven.

"Gray, we came for you. Natsu is right here with you. We're here to help." Gray shook his head furiously. Lucy covered her mouth, tears in her eyes. They had found Gray, but they had been too late to save him from his torture. Just when she was wondering what they were going to do, Natsu took a step forward. With baited breath, they watched as he took another. And then another. Gray continued shaking his head, denying the presence of his saviours more to himself than to anyone else. Suddenly, there were knees in his field of vision. Gray's head snapped up.

"N-No!" He was silenced by warm lips on his. Gray's eyes widened as his vision cleared and he saw pink. Natsu's eyes were closed as he kissed him, but Gray saw that his Dragon Slayer was crying. The tears that ran down his Natsu's face broke Gray's heart. When the rosette pulled away, Gray was staring at him like he was a ghost.

"N-Natsu?" The person in question nodded.

"It's me, Gray. I came for you." Gray sobbed in overwhelming relief and fainted soon after. Natsu gently ran his hands through Gray's raven locks, disgusted to find dried blood caked in it. He shook his head and turned his attention to Gray's restraints.

When Natsu had successfully broken the stock and melted the chains that had bound Gray, he immediately scooped the raven up in his arms, trying to mind his injuries. Gray moaned in his arms and Natsu silently apologized to his lover. He slowly made his way back to the girls who had been watching the two with solemn expressions. Erza extended her hand behind Natsu and guided him out the door with Lucy followed him. Erza took one last look at the room that had held Gray captive before following her friends and slamming the door shut for the final time.

* * *

Gray's eyes snapped open as he sat up with a start. Instantly, warm hands were on his body, urging it back down onto the soft bedding that he had sat up from.

…soft bedding?

Gray looked around and found himself surrounded by the familiar Fairy Tail infirmary. He blinked as his vision took in the Dragon Slayer leaned over him.

"Natsu?" The rosette smiled.

"I'm glad you're awake, Gray." The raven's eyes widened as he moved his arm up to cup Natsu's warm cheek.

"I'm not dreaming am I?" Natsu closed his eyes and shook his head, giving Gray the smile that he reserved for his lover.

"No. You're really here. Welcome home, Gray." Of their own volition, tears welled up in Gray's eyes and trickled down his cheeks as he sobbed in relief. Natsu brought Gray's head into his chest and hugged him tightly, giving him physical proof that he was safe. Gray continued to cry and without looking up, he began talking.

"T-They… they told me you forgot about me! They said… that you didn't love me anymore!" Natsu's grip tightened on his lover's head as he looked over Gray's wounds. Gray had bandages wrapped around his head, torso, arms and legs. The lacerations and bruising still made Natsu cringe when he thought about them covering his ice mage's perfect pale skin. His flames had threatened to erupt when he saw the blood from Gray's head and had been told that his head had been kicked. It took Erza, Gajeel and Elfman to hold him back from destroying something.

The wounds made from the whip that had clearly been used on the ice mage were horrifying. Gray's back had been a mess when Natsu had first seen it. Thankfully, Mira had applied some magical salve and Wendy had also used some of her healing magic. Gray had been at risk of an infection before, but thanks to them, he was in no danger now.

Finally, Gray's hands came to mind. Natsu had almost set the room on fire when he had seen the stab wounds through his ice mage's hands. The hands that were so steady when casting ice magic were now weak and wounded. He couldn't imagine what Gray must have felt when they had been stabbed.

Natsu felt that that was only the tip of the iceberg though. Now, he could see that Gray's tormentors had done more than kick and beat him. They had tried to convince Gray that Natsu did not care for him anymore; did not love him. And they had almost succeeded. Gray, his strong, beautiful and confident Gray had been broken into pieces trying to protect Natsu. The thought was almost unbearable. Natsu pulled Gray up from his chest and kissed him deeply, wiping away the tear tracks that adorned Gray's cheeks as he did so.

"Thank you. Thank you so much, Gray. I love you so much," he said, his voice cracking slightly as he kissed his raven again.

* * *

Sometime later, Erza and Lucy entered the infirmary with Happy, Wendy and Carla in tow. Gray tensed up upon seeing them and Natsu glanced over with worry.

"Gray, you're awake!" Lucy exclaimed happily. Happy immediately flew over and landed on Gray's bed. The raven flinched but said nothing. Natsu noticed and from the looks of it, Erza did too. Wendy walked over to Gray's side.

"Gray-san, how do you feel?"

"I-I'm fine. Thanks, Wendy." Natsu raised an eyebrow at the stutter, but again, said nothing. Lucy walked up as well and gently placed her hand on top of Gray's bandaged one. She hadn't been expecting Gray to respond to the touch, but she _definitely_ hadn't expected him to tear his hand away from her.

"Gray?"

"Don't touch me!" Gray screamed. "I…I…" Erza quickly saw what was happening and ushered everyone out of the room, leaving Natsu alone with Gray. Once outside, Lucy looked down.

"I'm sorry, Erza. I didn't think he would react like that." Erza gave the blonde a sisterly smile.

"You couldn't have known. I didn't expect him to react like that either. It seems the psychological damage has been done. We can only hope Natsu can bring Gray out of the darkness that he's found himself in."

* * *

"Gray! Gray! Snap out of it, Gray, it's me!" Natsu pleaded desperately as the raven clung to his hair, his back hunched. Gray trembled as he shrunk away from the voice.

"I won't tell you anything! Leave me alone!" he shouted. Natsu's heart broke at the desperate tone his lover's voice took. All the more reason to snap him out of the nightmare he found himself in. Natsu roughly pulled Gray's head to face him. The droopy blue eyes had a glaze to them, seeing but not really seeing. Natsu stared deep into the depths of blue.

"Gray. Come back to me. You're fine. You're here at Fairy Tail with me. Come on Gray, I know you can do it." Bit by bit, the disoriented look in Gray's eyes faded and ebbed away into nothing. Gray blinked and found himself staring into Natsu's hard onyx eyes.

"Natsu…?" The rosette breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness. You scared me there, Gray."

"What happened?"

"You were acting like you were back there with them. I snapped you out of it just now."

"Oh. Sorry." An awkward silence settled in between the two. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Natsu carefully looked over to Gray who gave a small nod.

"It's open," Natsu called out. The door swung open to reveal Makarov and Porlyusica. The old man's eyes softened when he looked at Gray.

"How do you feel, Gray?" he asked. The raven looked away just as the pink haired healer came up to his bedside and began unwinding his bandages.

"I'm better now," Gray responded. Porlyusica finished with the bandages and inspected each of Gray's wounds.

"He's much better now. That little healer of yours has improved, Makarov. He should be fine to go back to his own house but he needs to take it easy for a while. No jobs for a week, I would say." Makarov nodded in agreement. With that assessment, the healer redressed Gray's bandages with fresh ones and left. Makarov turned to Natsu.

"Why don't you go home for the day, Gray? I'm sure you'd like to get back home." Gray nodded and carefully began to ease off the bed. Natsu was immediately by his side, ready to help him if he needed it. The two walked out of the infirmary and out of the guild, very aware of the stares that followed them.

"Will Gray-san be ok?" Wendy asked. Erza watched as the two retreating figures of her brothers moved farther and farther away.

"He has Natsu with him. I'm sure he'll be alright," she whispered.

* * *

The walk back to Gray's house was silent and uncomfortable. Natsu didn't know what to say and Gray didn't want to talk. Gray opened the door to his house wordlessly and it opened with a clack. His house was exactly as he had left it but everything seemed unfamiliar and strange now. After a week of being tortured, home didn't feel like home.

Natsu wordlessly guided Gray up his stairs and into the bedroom that he had slept in many times now. Natsu looked at Gray in worry as he ushered him onto his bed. Gray looked up at him, his deep blue eyes showing a vulnerability that was unnatural to them. Natsu forced his anger down and climbed into the bed beside Gray.

"Go to sleep Gray. You need to rest." His words fell on deaf ears as the raven was already asleep. Natsu smiled and pulled the covers over them both as he was lulled away into dreamland.

* * *

Gray snapped awake and sat up harshly, sweaty and out of breath. After waking up from a horrible nightmare— no, a _memory_ — Gray was panicked. He turned frantically, not recognizing his surroundings and only seeing darkness, _loathsome darkness_. Suddenly, it was like he couldn't breathe as he felt himself immerse back into the horrible memory of that dark, dank cell. Without thinking, Gray covered his ears and screamed.

Natsu bolted upright, ready to attack when he was woken up by a scream. His first instinct was to light his fists on fire but he immediately stopped when he remembered where he was. Speaking of which, he looked over to Gray. The raven was hugging his knees, trembling and rocking back and forth. Natsu drew in a sharp breath as he was reminded of how had found Gray in the cell.

"Gray? Are you with me, Ice Princess?" he asked, his voice no louder than a whisper. Gray's voice cracked as a broken whimper escaped his lips.

"N-No… Dark… Don't… Want Natsu… Natsu…" he pleaded. Natsu's heart shattered into pieces hearing his lover beg for him when he was right there. Slowly, he moved to envelop Gray in a warm hug.

"Shhh… I'm right here Gray, you're safe," he cooed. Bit by bit, Gray calmed down and looked up at his lover.

"Natsu...?" Then without warning, he clung onto his Dragon Slayer's neck and buried his face into the crook of his neck. "Turn on the lights, please! The dark…! The dark! Please, Natsu!" Without question, Natsu lit his index finger on fire, illuminating his face as well as Gray's tear stained one. Natsu kissed the tear tracks on his lover's cheeks, tasting the saltiness of his tears.

"I'm right here. I won't leave you alone in the darkness. Never, Gray." With that solemn promise, Gray nodded and slumped against Natsu, mentally worn out. Natsu extinguished the flame on his finger and laid his ice mage back down on the bed. He stared at the unconscious raven sadly as he ran a hand through Gray's black locks slowly, savouring their soft touch. It had been obvious, but Gray had clearly sustained mental damage as well as physical. He did not know what his lover had been subjected to to break him so thoroughly, but he would do everything he damn well could to help Gray heal.

Before he went back to sleep himself, he opened the curtains and let the moonlight flood into the room, filling it with its pale glow. Natsu smiled as he wrapped his arms around his lover's waist and pulled him closer. When Gray woke up, Natsu would be right by his side.

* * *

Gray's eyebrows furrowed as he opened his eyes slowly. He felt warmth around him and wondered where is had come from. All he remembered was being cold. Gray tilted his head up to look at the sleeping face of his lover. Natsu's even breaths rained down on him and Gray found himself running the pads of his thumbs over Natsu's warm lips. The next thing he knew, he was kissing Natsu. The rosette's eyes instantly snapped open when he felt the pressure on his lips. But looking at the raven who seemed just as surprised as he was, Natsu didn't resist in the slightest.

The two shared a chaste kiss, closed mouthed and sincere, before Gray pulled away, embarrassed. Natsu chuckled and tugged Gray closer to him, letting their bodies fit into each other perfectly.

"Good morning, Gray."

"Good morning, Natsu."

"How do you feel?" Gray looked down, not wanting to make eye contact with Natsu.

"I'm sorry about last night," he began. There was a short pause before Natsu responded.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" _During the time you were captured._ The rest of the sentence wasn't spoken, but it was obvious to both of them. Gray took a deep breath and grabbed onto Natsu's waist as well, clutching it like a lifeline. Slowly, the story trickled out of his mouth like poison.

Natsu hugged him close as he finished the tale of his torture, tears of rage in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Gray! If only I'd gotten there sooner!" Gray smiled and returned Natsu's embrace, feeling tears of his own stinging his eyes, the relief of being home with his lover finally settling in.

"It doesn't matter, Natsu. All that matters is that you came for me. I love you." The two sat there in the morning sun, hugging each other, one asking for forgiveness and the other out of gratitude.

* * *

It would be weeks before Gray's injuries all healed. It would take even longer for Gray's mind to heal and return to what it was before his capture and torture. But through it all, Natsu showered Gray with his love, protecting him from nightmares as well as trying his best to make sure that he was never in the dark without a source of light. Even after Gray had healed and went back to challenging other people to brawls and going on missions, Natsu was the one to stay by him at night when he would wake up crying after a nightmare about his torture again. Natsu was the one to create a small flame when Gray woke up in the darkness, screaming and sobbing. Natsu was the one to whisper reassuring words and give him sweet kisses. Natsu was always there for Gray when he needed the rosette. And he always would be.

* * *

 **Humans can survive 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food. It's pretty interesting that we can go so long without food.**

 **Solitary confinement and darkness actually can drive people insane. Two days is enough to cause extreme paranoia and emotional breakdowns are extremely common.**

 **Welp, this one got _wayyy_ out of hand, but I hope you guys enjoyed this! See you next time!**


	8. That Time You Couldn't See Me

**Hey guys! Sorry for the wait! I'm back with chapter 8 for you all! This prompt was given to me by a guest!**

 **Prompt:** **During a mission, Gray is turned temporarily blind from a spell, and Natsu gets really protective over him. And if your willing, maybe a little lemon would be entertaining with Gray's other senses heightened.**

 **This was super interesting to write. Hope everyone enjoys it!**

 _ **THIS ONESHOT IS RATED SOFT M (THAT IS NOW A THING XP)**_

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does.**

 **Read and Review!**

* * *

"Flame Brain, get up! I sent Happy ahead of us already and the girls are probably already at the station!" Gray shouted as he attempted to convince his lover to get out of bed. Natsu simply groaned into his pillow and turned away from Gray.

"But I don't wanna!" he whined childishly. Gray could hear the pout in his voice. "We're gonna have to take a train!" he moaned as he thought about his moving death. Just the thought of it made him nauseous and Gray hastily moved him so that his head hung over the bed.

"Erza's going to kill us if we're late, Natsu!" Gray said, exasperated. That seemed to do the trick. In an instant, Natsu's nausea was forgotten and he was racing towards Gray's bathroom, ready to start the day. Gray sighed and shook his head as he began to pack Natsu's bag for him.

* * *

"Natsu! Gray! You were almost late!" Lucy called as the two boys slowed to a stop in front of the rest of the team. Happy floated above Lucy's head, happily munching on a fish. Wendy and Carla stood beside Lucy, welcoming the two boys. Erza however, was tapping her boot impatiently on the stone floor and Natsu and Gray gulped nervously. The two immediately hugged each other in fear.

"Why are you late boys?" she demanded, eerily calm.

"Umm…" Gray trailed off, hesitant to answer. He didn't want to subject his lover to the great Erza's wrath after all. But then again, he didn't want to suffer the brunt of her anger either. Just then, the train whistle blew. Gray let out a breath, relieved. _Saved by the train_. Natsu looked conflicted at the thought and Gray had to stifle a laugh. Lucy entered the train, Wendy, Carla and Happy following behind her.

"Come on guys, the train is about to leave!" she warned. Erza shot them one more irritated glare before dragging her cart of luggage off and heading towards the storage area of the train. That left Gray with the task of dragging Natsu onboard. Gray grabbed Natsu's hand and began pulling, the Dragon Slayer resisting the whole way.

"Gray! Don't make me go on that!" he pleaded. Gray rolled his eyes and continued towards the door.

"You know you have to, Natsu. There's no way we're running to the job."

"I can! You guys can take the train and I'll run and meet you there! Problem solved!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Gray said as he and Natsu stepped over the threshold. He forced Natsu down on his seat and took the one next to the rosette. Erza met up with them and took a seat next to Gray. The train whistle blew one more time before the wheels started turning and they were easing out of the station. Immediately, Natsu's cheeks bulged and he slumped in his seat, nauseous and miserable. Gray sighed as he let the Dragon Slayer use his shoulder as a headrest and absentmindedly began running his hand through Natsu's hair. This would be a long ride.

* * *

Three painful hours later, Natsu jumped off the train and kissed the ground.

"I'm alive again!" he shouted.

"Aye, sir!" Happy chimed in. Gray laughed at his lover's antics before reaching out and intertwining his fingers in Natsu's. The rosette gave him a blinding grin as he happily made off with Gray in the direction of town, hoping to find an inn, the others following behind them and gushing about them being adorable.

The request was supposed to be simple: stop a thief. Yet when the team had gone to the owners of the stores made victim, none of them could describe what the culprit had looked like. After the sixth store, Erza punched the wall in frustration, cracking the stone.

"How can no one know what he looks like?!" she roared in frustration. Everyone shrunk back, afraid to suffer Titania's wrath. Suddenly, Erza composed herself and brought her hand to her temple. "In any case, we should camp out in a store for the night. Following the trends of the robberies, the next store tonight should be that one," she said as she pointed to a fancy looking jewelry store. Lucy squealed and eagerly rushed inside, Wendy and Carla following soon after. Gray and Natsu groaned.

"This is gonna suck," Natsu complained.

"Aye…" Happy concurred.

* * *

After receiving permission from the store owner, the members of Team Natsu hid in various locations throughout the store. Quietly, or at as quietly as some of them could manage, they waited for the burglar to strike.

Sometime around midnight, Natsu's head perked up and he glanced at the door.

"What's up, Natsu?" Gray asked.

"Someone's here," Natsu whispered back. Gray nodded as he put a fist to his palm, getting ready to attack. The door eased open after some clicking noises and a shadowed figure stepped into the store. The team waited until he was in the centre of the room before they all jumped out from their various hiding places and began to attack. The figure looked up in surprise and began to turn around, heading towards his escape.

"Oh no you don't! Ice Make: Wall!" Gray shouted. The icy barrier immediately erected in front of the door, blocking off the thief's only escape route. The shadowed figure clicked his tongue and a pure white magical circle appeared on his palm facing Gray. The raven's eyes widened before a blinding light flooded his vision.

"Gray!" Natsu called out in concern. When the light faded, Gray stumbled and fell back, his hand covering his face. Wendy was immediately by his side as Erza, Lucy and Natsu rushed forward to subdue the thief.

The battle was finished soon after that. The authorities were called and the thief was taken away. Once the authorities left, Natsu rushed over to Gray and Wendy. The little healer had said nothing to them since she had went to tend to Gray and the raven seemed disoriented. Natsu waved his hand in front of Gray's face only to get no response.

"Hey, Gray. You in there?" he asked, a little worried when he got no response. Gray blinked and looked around.

"Natsu? Where are you?" he asked. Natsu cocked his head to the side, confused.

"What are you talking about, Gray? I'm right in front of you." A silence settled between the entire group before Wendy pulled her hands away from Gray, the pale green glow that one illuminated her hands fading, as she shook her head.

"…I can't see you Natsu."

…

 _What?!_

* * *

"It seems that that flash of light temporarily blinded Mr. Fullbuster," the doctor announced. Team Natsu's jaws dropped, save for Wendy who had already figured out what had happened when she had been trying to heal Gray earlier. Natsu stepped forward, his arms wide.

"How come you can't fix it!" he implored. The doctor shook his head.

"You don't understand. That flash of light, or rather that magic, stops the optic nerve from functioning, in a sense. It will, of course, wear off in its own time as the magic is not that powerful, but there is nothing that I can do, or your healer can do, to restart an optic nerve." Lucy's eyes widened as she glanced towards Gray, who had been sitting there listening to the doctor speak silently. She took a step towards him.

"Gray, are you alright?" she asked. The raven turned in her direction, but it was obvious that he was not looking at her when his line of sight was directed at the wall beside Lucy's head.

"I'm fine really. I mean, it's not permanent. It's a pain in the ass not being able to see, but it's not the end of the world." Erza nodded.

"Gray is right. The magic will wear off. For now, we should help him get used to it. Natsu, I'm sure you'd like to do that, wouldn't you?" she asked as she turned to the rosette. The Dragon Slayer pouted but gripped Gray's hand in his own and pulled the raven up. Wendy chose then to spoke up as she walked in front of the blind raven.

"Umm… Gray-san, I'm sorry I can't help!" she apologized. Gray looked down and frowned at not being able to see the young bluenet. Nonetheless, he gave a gentle smile downwards.

"Don't worry about it, Wendy. It's not your fault." With that, Natsu carefully guided Gray out the room with the rest of the team following. There was a suffocating silence before Gray sighed and began talking to Natsu about fishing. The others soon picked up on the hint and began to make small talk as quietly as they could, since it was still late in the night. The only reason they had gotten a doctor was because Natsu had been freaking out when Gray had said that he couldn't see him. The team continued back to their inn, intent on getting a good night's rest.

* * *

The next morning, Gray woke up to darkness. He blinked. He could've sworn his eyes were open. Then the events of the previous night came rushing back to him. Right. He was temporarily blind. He sighed as he pushed himself up, blindly feeling around for the edge of the bed. It seemed as though he had woken up Natsu when he felt a hot hand clamp down on his wrist.

"Let me help," Natsu said quietly as he pulled the raven up. Gray stumbled a bit at the sudden action and fell into Natsu's chest. Blushing, he hastily pushed Natsu away.

"I can take care of myself!" he claimed as he took a step forward.

And tripped over his shoes.

Luckily, Natsu caught him. Gray didn't have to see to picture the knowing smirk that was undoubtedly plastered across his Dragon Slayer's face. He sighed.

"Fine, fine. Just take me to the bathroom," he grumbled.

"As you wish, Ice Princess," Natsu teased. Gray scowled. Natsu was a dead man when he got his vision back!

* * *

Erza looked up from her cup of hot water just as the boys came down the steps, their luggage in Natsu's hands. It was obvious that the rosette had insisted on carrying it, what with Gray's current predicament. Speaking of Gray, he was being flown down by Happy. Gray however, did not look pleased at all. Erza had to stifle the urge to laugh. It was definitely not something you saw every day.

"What's wrong, Gray?" Lucy asked, trying but failing to mask her amusement. Gray crossed his arms.

"It was Natsu's idea," he answered, knowing the underlying question that had been hidden in Lucy's question. Natsu grinned happily as he set down their luggage.

"Come on, you can't say that it's not a good idea! You didn't fall down the stairs!"

"Like hell I can't! I wouldn't have fallen down anyway!"

"Says the one who tripped over his own shoes this morning."

"Shut up!" Gray shouted, embarrassed. Erza coughed into her fist, feeling the curious stares of every patron of the inn. Lucy was the one to interrupt the two of them.

"Umm guys… everyone is staring," she pointed out. Gray huffed and looked away from his lover. Natsu rolled his eyes at the childish action and sat down at the table himself, eager to eat breakfast.

* * *

"For the last time, Natsu, I won't let Happy carry me to the station!" Gray shouted. The girls and Exceeds sighed as they watched the two lovers argue childishly. Natsu crossed his arms.

"There's no way I'm letting you walk to the station. It's either you're getting carried by me, or getting carried by Happy." Gray let out a noise of frustration.

"Damnit Natsu, I'm not an invalid! Just because I lost my sight doesn't mean you have to baby me!" Suddenly, there was a hot breath beside his ear. Gray couldn't see, but he was certain that Natsu was now right in front of him. Warm arms wrapped around him, caging him in their embrace.

"Please Gray. Let me be a little protective. You're vulnerable right now. Please? For me?" the rosette's voice pleaded. As much as Gray wanted to deny the fire mage, he let out an exasperated sigh. Natsu grinned, even though he knew Gray couldn't see it, and signaled to Happy to pick Gray up. The sigh had been the only answer he needed. He turned towards the station and grabbed his and Gray's belongings. "Alright, let's go!" he cheered as he began to make his way there. Wendy looked up and Lucy and gave her a strange look.

"I think this is the first time Natsu-san has been _happy_ to go to a train station."

* * *

"Urk!" Natsu moaned as the train rushed forward towards Magnolia. Lucy brought a palm to her forehead and Wendy laughed awkwardly.

"It's more like he was so caught up in his small victory that he forgot about the train," she muttered. Erza crossed her arms.

"He must learn to overcome his weakness!" she declared. The rest of them sweatdropped at the skewed logic. The rest of the train ride passed in silence.

* * *

"We're back!" Natsu sang as the doors of the guild slammed open. Mirajane turned back from the bar.

"Welcome back! Oh my, why are you leaning on Natsu, Gray?" The raven in question grumbled before telling Natsu to help him get to the bar.

"I'm temporarily blind, Mira," he explained. The platinum blonde placed a hand over her mouth before she remembered that Gray couldn't see that.

"How did that happen?" Gray took a deep breath before he explained what had happened on their mission to her.

"Hey, Salamander, you up for a brawl?!" Gajeel demanded. Natsu immediately jumped up from where he sat, fists already aflame.

"Bring it on, Metal Head!" With that, the two started a brawl in the middle of the guild, dragging along many other participants as they went on. Lucy sighed as she watched the fight from the side. She glanced over to Gray. The raven looked conflicted, which wasn't too hard to understand given that he was usually one of the main participants in the guild wide brawls, but he knew that he couldn't fight as he was now. Mirajane smiled at him sympathetically and slid him his favourite drink, moving it so that the hit Gray's hand. Gray sniffed at the air.

"A chocolate shake? Mira, I don't have any money on me," he protested. Mirajane smiled, silently marveling at Gray's sudden enhanced sensitivity to smell.

"Not at all. This one is on the house," she replied sweetly. Gray smiled and began happily drinking from the cold treat.

The brawl continued on and many pieces of furniture were sent flying to who knows where. Natsu was about to punch Gajeel out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a table going flying towards Gray. The raven sat at the bar counter, enjoying his drink and had his back turned to the table. Mirajane also had her back turned and Lucy was too far away to do anything. Natsu scowled and launched himself forward. Just as the table was about to hit Gray in the back of the head, Natsu broke it into pieces with a flaming punch. Pieces of the broken table rained down on Gray who rubbed his hair and turned, mouth open to complain. Instead, he let out a cry of surprise when he felt himself get lifted up and carried princess style. Gray growled. Only one person had the nerve to do that.

"Put me down, Natsu!"

"No way. It's too dangerous for you right now. Mira, we're going home!" Mira sent the two off with a wave and a smile before going back to what she was doing.

* * *

Natsu carefully entered Gray's house, making sure that the raven in his arms didn't hit anything. Gray crossed his arms as Natsu set him down on his couch. Gray had complained and swore the entire way back but Natsu had had none of it. As a result, the blind mage was now sulking petulantly. Natsu rolled his eyes and took a seat next to Gray.

"Come on Gray, it's not that bad," he said as he tried to coax his lover into looking at him. However, Gray only huffed and turned away from Natsu. The Dragon Slayer frowned before an idea popped up in his head. He crawled forward and wrapped his arms around the unsuspecting raven's waist.

"Na-Natsu, what are you doing?!" Gray demanded, irritation momentarily forgotten. Natsu didn't respond with words but instead chose to nibble on Gray's neck, causing his lover's breath to hitch.

"You know, I saw you with that chocolate shake. It seems like your sense of smell has heightened since you lost your vision," he began conversationally. Gray turned to face Natsu.

"So?" he asked. Natsu grinned and snaked a hand up Gray's shirt as he continued to plant kisses down Gray's slender neck. Gray shivered under Natsu's touches and leaned back against him, a moan already on his lips.

"So I was wondering… is every other sense enhanced as well? It looks like they are, my dear Ice Princess," he said as he saw the bright red blush on Gray's cheeks and heard Gray's already labored breathing. It seemed that Gray was extra sensitive like this and Natsu couldn't wait to take advantage of it.

"Y-You bastard, now isn't the time for this!" Gray managed out. Natsu clicked his tongue and bit the tip of Gray's ear lightly, earning him a shiver and a moan.

"I disagree. Now's the perfect time for this," he grinned as he picked Gray up and made his way up the stairs, heading towards Gray's bedroom. The rest of the night passed by in a blur for both boys, but Natsu was sure that come morning, Gray's neighbours would be complaining about their loudness, or rather Gray's.

* * *

Gray grumbled as he stomped into the guild with Natsu following gloomily behind him. Mira looked up from the bar.

"Good morning, Gray, Natsu!"

"Morning Mira," Gray grumbled as he made his way over to the bar. The bartender took notice of this and smiled.

"I see your vision is back, Gray."

"Yeah. It probably came undone because I was too far away from the caster."

"Mmm, and why is Natsu sulking?"

"Because he wanted to have some more fun." Natsu rose up from the table and began to defend himself.

"You can't blame me! I mean, you sure looked like you were enjoying it, what with the way you kept moaning—" A blast of ice sent him flying back and Gray stood up embarrassedly, his face like a tomato.

"You flame brained idiot!" he roared. Natsu wiped the dirt off his cheek and lit his fists aflame.

"You wanna fight, Ice Princess?!"

"Bring it on, Ash for Brains!" Within minutes, magic was flying and Mirajane had to move to the side to avoid a rogue ball of flame. She tittered in amusement. It was lucky that it was still early and most of the guild members weren't in yet. Natsu would've been in real trouble if there were more people. She laughed and clasped her hands together, watching her two childhood friends fight. Ah, how sweet young love was!

* * *

 **And there we go! 8 oneshots done! Wow, I'm more than halfway done. I hadn't really noticed XD I hope I did your prompt justice, guest! Hope everyone else enjoyed it too! Leave me some reviews!**


	9. That Time You Wouldn't Wake Up

**Sorry it took so long! I've been busy these past couple of days so there wasn't much time to write! Anyway, for this prompt, I wasn't sure if the requester wanted it during a mission or not so I went with not. I hope that's ok! This prompt is from Anashi!**

 **Prompt: I** **want a story Natray hehe! For some reason, Gray falls unconcius and nothing is waking him. Will can Natsu find the cure?**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does!**

 **Read and Review!**

* * *

Natsu grumbled as he reshelved another book. He had no idea how his team ended up with the task of cleaning out the guild's storage again. Lucy and Erza worked on the floor while he and Gray were up in ladders. Happy flew about as well, placing books back where they belonged.

"Man, this bites!" Natsu moaned. Erza looked up.

"We don't have a choice. It was the master's orders." Lucy sighed as she set down a stack of books.

"Even so, he could've gotten another team to do it! I mean, we've already done it before!" Gray yawned and looked over at her.

"We might as well. The sooner we get this over with the sooner we can go on a job," he said. Lucy sighed and continued to sort through her books. Natsu also looked back to his bookshelf, pouting but doing the work nonetheless.

An hour passed by before Gray handed Erza a sheet of paper.

"Erza, this doesn't have any names or dates on it. Where do you think I should put it?" The redhead frowned as she scanned the page and found it to be exactly as Gray had said. She handed it back to him.

"Go find Mira and ask her what to do. She'll know." Gray nodded his assent and made his way towards the door. Just as his hand touched the doorknob, a brilliant purple glow flooded the room. Every head turned to the paper in Gray's hand. Just as suddenly as it came, the glow faded. There was a brief silence before Gray began falling backwards. Natsu immediately leaped off the ladder and caught Gray before he hit the ground.

"Gray?! Gray, wake up! _Gray!_ "

* * *

Gray was brought to the infirmary where he laid peacefully on the bed. Natsu watched the steady rise and fall of his chest like a hawk while Makarov scratched his head as he tried to pinpoint the cause.

"It's no use. I don't know what happened. Obviously, there was something about this paper," he said as he held the now blank paper that Gray had once held, "but I can't tell exactly what it is." Natsu bolted up from where he sat.

"What are you saying, jii-chan?! Can't you get Gray to wake up?" he shouted. Makarov shook his head.

"No. Even I have never seen this type of magic. You can try to wake him up, but I'm not sure if it will work…" Natsu was out the door in a second and came back holding a bucket of water.

"Natsu I don't think that—" Lucy began but was interrupted by the sound of splashing water. She sighed and placed a hand to her forehead. Trust Natsu to not think things through and just up and dump water on his lover. However, she was surprised when Gray didn't even stir.

"Wow," she managed. Natsu growled and came back with pots and pans. Lucy barely had time to cover her ears before Natsu began smashing them together.

"Gray! Wake up, Ice Princess!" he shouted, all while creating a ruckus that even had Happy flying away due to his sensitive ears.

Natsu stopped about ten minutes later, his eyes spinning.

"Don't make so much noise that you hurt your own ears!" she shouted. She sighed and shook Gray gently at first, but it soon turned rough when she realized that it wasn't working. Erza gently pulled her to the side. She stood by the side of Gray's bed before speaking threateningly.

"Gray. Wake up," she ordered. There was a silence for a minute before Erza turned away from Gray. "That's it, something's wrong. We need to find a cure right away." Lucy's jaw dropped.

"How can you tell?" Erza smiled.

"Simple. Gray would've bolted up in fear if he was alright." Lucy turned away, dumbfounded by Erza's logic.

"I don't think that's a good thing if he's scared of you to that point…"

* * *

Team Natsu, minus Gray, stood behind Levy who was scouring magic books with her Gale Force Reading Glasses. After several minutes of anxious waiting, Levy sighed and pushed the umpteenth book away from her.

"I don't know! There's nothing in these books about waking someone up from a magic induced sleep!" Erza and Lucy groaned and Natsu demolished the table Levy was sitting at with a flaming fist. The petite bluenette eeped and let out a breath she did not know that she had been holding. Natsu's rage was truly a scary thing.

"Damnit! Isn't there anything we can do?!" Erza put her arm on Natsu's shoulder comfortingly.

"Don't worry, Natsu. I'm sure Gray will wake up soon. For the time being, would you like to stay with him?" Natsu nodded silently as he sulked back into the guild's infirmary. The entire guild watched him go.

"Damn, I don't think I've ever seen Salamander that depressed over anything," Gajeel remarked. Levy smacked him.

"Gray is in a magical induced sleep! Of course Natsu is concerned!" Gajeel scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah yeah, I get it. But even when our guild is in the dumps, Salamander's always been there with his obnoxious optimism. It's kinda weird that he's all sulky now."

"We'll just have to hope that someone can find a cure," Lucy said, as she turned in the direction of the infirmary.

 _Natsu… Gray…_

* * *

Night fell upon Magnolia. Most of the guild had already left for their respective homes. Erza knocked on the infirmary door twice before opening it.

"Natsu?" The Dragon Slayer was indeed there, looking as if he had not moved the entire afternoon. Natsu's head was nested in his arms as he settled on the bed, eyes never leaving Gray's form. Erza pulled a seat beside Natsu and slung her arm across his broad shoulders. "Do you want to stay here for the night, Natsu?" The rosette made a small, sad sound that was muffled by his arms. Erza's gaze softened as she affectionately ruffled his hair.

Just then, Lucy opened the door, peeking her head inside. She took one look at the scene in front of her and stopped, foot stopped just as it was about to cross the threshold.

"Natsu, Happy is going to stay with me tonight," she said softly. It was obvious that Natsu didn't want to leave his raven haired lover's side. The mop of pink hair on the bed nodded. Erza turned back to face Lucy and gave her a grateful smile. Lucy gave her a soft smile back and glanced at the still rosette.

 _Is he ok?_

 _He'll be fine._

The words were clear as day, but the only sound in the room was Gray's even breaths.

Erza left Natsu soon after and Mirajane and Makarov left soon after that. Natsu raised his head and stared at his lover. It was a guilty pleasure of his to watch Gray sleep. Sometimes, he would even wake up earlier than the ice mage purposely just to get a glimpse of Gray's sleeping face.

Whenever Gray slept, his eyebrows would always furrow and then even out and Natsu thought it was the most adorable thing ever. It was such a childish and cute gesture unbecoming of the cool attitude that Gray always put up. The raven's face was calm with his lips slightly parted. It made Gray look younger than he was and Natsu always reveled in the short moments when the sun came up that he saw this hidden side of his lover.

But now, with Gray lying painfully still on the guild's bed, Natsu couldn't find it in himself to enjoy his lover's sleeping face. There was no scrunching of eyebrows, no parted lips, no trace of the sleeping face that Natsu adored so much. Tears welled up in Natsu's eyes as he moved his hand to cup Gray's cheek gently.

"You know, you don't need any more beauty sleep, Gray," he joked. Gray didn't even stir at the noise. Natsu deflated. Even he couldn't remain optimistic about this. "Hey Gray… when you wake up, I'm going to give you the biggest scolding you've ever gotten. It'll make Erza's look like normal talking," he laughed. "Lucy will probably complain that you did something stupid. Erza will call you an idiot and reprimand you after I'm done. Happy is upset that he can't talk to you." Again, Gray did not stir. Natsu lowered his head onto the bed and his hand crawled over the sheets to grasp Gray's hand tightly in his. The tears were flowing down his cheek now as Natsu struggled to continue talking. "When you wake up… after everyone is done yelling at you for being a fucking idiot, we can go on a job. Just you and me. It'll be a nice break and I know you love going on job dates, just like I do. We'll do things that we both like so please… wake up, Gray." Natsu closed his eyes and let himself fall onto the soft bedding. In minutes, he was asleep.

* * *

"I found it!" Levy's voice shouted. Natsu's eyes snapped open as he rushed out of the room towards the petite bluenette. He slammed his hands on the table and leaned forward.

"Can you help Gray, Levy?!" he demanded. A tug on his scarf pulled him back and away from the surprised mage.

"Natsu, you just woke up. Go freshen up in the bathroom and then we'll fill you in on what Levy has found," Erza ordered. Begrudgingly, Natsu obeyed. Erza sighed and placed a hand to her forehead. "Honestly, he slept until noon and the first thing that he does is rush out of the infirmary like a madman." Lucy laughed.

"I think it's nice. Natsu's really worried about Gray so he must be really excited about a potential cure." Erza crossed her arms.

"Let's hope that this works."

* * *

"Ok, so I'm not sure if this will work, but this book says it dispels most sleeping magic. But, we have to gather the ingredients for it," Levy explained. The members of Team Natsu, along with Gajeel and Juvia nodded. "We need herbs from Mount Hakobe, flowers from Hargeon, leaves from a tree that grows in Onibus, sap from a tree that grows in Clover and a mushroom that grows in someplace called the 'Hidden Village'." Natsu perked.

"Levy, do you have a picture?" he asked. Levy blinked before handing the book over to Natsu and pointing to a picture of a blue topped mushroom. Natsu pointed at the mushroom excitedly.

"I've seen that before! Happy, do you remember that time after Lullaby?"

"Aye! Gray ate that mushroom and then they grew out of his head!" Lucy facepalmed at the memory. But that did nothing to dampen Natsu and Happy's excitement.

"Natsu, do you think you can find that place again?" Levy asked. Natsu nodded.

"Of course I can! Never underestimate a dragon's nose! Let's go Happy!"

"Aye, sir!" With that, Happy picked Natsu up by his vest and the two flew out of the guild. The rest of the guild watched them go. A few moments passed in silence before Levy coughed into her fist.

"Anyway, we can split up everything else then. I've got pictures of everything so everyone can just grab one and match it. Everything is really close by so you guys should be back in a day." Erza nodded, stepped forward and grabbed a picture of a tree with sap flowing out of it.

"I'll take this," she said as she walked out of the guild. Lucy, Juvia and Gajeel all stepped forward and grabbed a picture before heading out as well.

* * *

"Happy, down there!" Natsu shouted as he caught whiff of his target. Happy immediately swooped down and let go of Natsu. The Dragon Slayer landed on the ground right in front of the mushroom. Natsu immediately snatched the mushroom up and gazed at it. It seemed like so long ago that he and Gray had been glaring at each other like idiots and making fun of the mushrooms on the other's head. The memory brought a smile to Natsu's face.

 _Hang on Gray… I'll fix this in no time._

* * *

Natsu was the first one back at the guild and he sat there the rest of the day, anxiously awaiting the return of the other four mages who had been sent out for the cure's ingredients. Finally, at sundown, the Lucy came back with the last ingredient. She hurriedly handed it to Levy who began to mix it with the other ingredients into a pot that Mirajane had given her. The mixture turned green and Levy quickly turned it into a powder with magic. Levy quickly brought the powder into the infirmary, moving quickly enough to rush but slowly enough not to spill anything. Natsu attempted to follow her but was immediately turned away.

"No. I don't want to risk you sniffing any of this stuff Natsu. Gray need this," she said as she turned, opened the door, stepped inside and closed the door behind her with a click.

A few minutes later, Levy returned empty headed, tears in her eyes. Natsu sucked in a breath sharply. Levy shook her head solemnly. Natsu rushed into the infirmary and stopped in front of the bed. The residual smell of herbs flooded Natsu's nostrils, which he would complain about later, but his focus was entirely on Gray. Gray had not moved an inch from when Natsu had last seen him. The rosette climbed on the bed and hovered over Gray. He cupped Gray's pale cheek tenderly.

"Is that it? Is there nothing else I can do?" he whispered brokenly. There was no answer other than the sound of Gray's breaths. Natsu brought his forehead to Gray's and let the tears that he had been holding back trickle down his face. "No… Gray damnit I can't lose you! Wake up!" he sobbed. He grabbed Gray's face and smashed his lips against his. It stung not to have the raven respond back to him and the thought only tormented Natsu more. Natsu released Gray and gently lowered him back onto the bed. Natsu lowered his head onto Gray's chest and wailed.

* * *

Gray's eyelids fluttered. It seemed like he had been asleep for ages. God, he felt groggy as hell. He forced his eyes open and lifted his head when he heard loud sobbing. He was surprised when he found a mop of pink resting on his chest. Gray was instantly worried. What had happened? With some difficulty, he moved his hand up and reached up to card his hand through Natsu's hair.

"Hey… what's wrong, Natsu?" he asked quietly. The result was instantaneous. Natsu's head snapped up and Gray say the tears tracks that trailed down Natsu's cheeks. Slowly, he wiped them away with the pad of his thumb. "Come on Natsu, what's gotten you like this?"

"G-Gray? Are you really awake? Am I dreaming?" Gray cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Yeah, I'm awake. Why wouldn't I be?" Without warning, Natsu flung his arms around Gray's neck and hugged him tight. "H-Hey, Natsu, what are you doing?"

"I'm so glad you're awake! I thought you were never going to wake up!" Gray figured that it had something to do with the piece of paper and why he suddenly up in the guild's infirmary. He sighed as he realized just how painful it must have been for Natsu to wait for him like this. He wrapped his arms around Natsu's shaking form.

"I'll always be here, Flame Brain. You're not getting rid of me that easily." Natsu pulled the raven on the bed closer to him roughly and kissed him desperately. The persisting fear and dread that had plagued Natsu's thoughts were now washed away by Gray's love. Natsu pulled away and stared into Gray's eyes lovingly. Then he flicked his forehead. Gray's hand immediately shot up to his head as he looked incredulously at his lover.

"That was for worrying me." Gray groaned and smacked Natsu upside the head.

"Idiot Flame Brain."

"But I'm your Flame Brain," Natsu teased. Gray flushed a brilliant red and turned away from Natsu, intent on hiding his blushing cheeks. Natsu laughed and spooned up next to Gray. Things were alright now.

* * *

 **Okie number 9 is done! How was it? I hope it suited your prompt well enough Anashi! Leave me some reviews guys!** :)


	10. That Time Someone Touched You

**Hey guys! Sorry it took so long! Not going to lie, this was kind of difficult to write. I have little to no experience writing these sorts of things, but I tried my best. This prompt is from a guest!**

 **Prompt: Team Natsu have a new mission, they attend a reception/party to find a spy/enemy. But during the party Gray is drugged and a guy try to molest him but Natsu is here (just in time) to save him!**

 **Well... I'm not sure how I feel about how this ended up but hopefully you guys like it?**

 ** _THIS ONESHOT IS RATED M FOR NON CON ELEMENTS._**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.**

 **Read and Review!**

* * *

"I don't know, Erza. Is this a good idea? Especially bringing along those two?" Lucy asked. Erza placed her hands on her hips.

"This is a mission for the team and that includes them. You'll behave won't you boys?" she asked threateningly. Erza seemed to grow larger as she loomed over Natsu and Gray. The two boys nodded furiously while clutching each other in fear. Erza nodded in approval. Lucy sweat dropped as she read over the job request again.

"'Please capture Alan Ilyvich. Reward of 100,000J upon his capture. Mages must be able to go undercover,'" she read out. The reward definitely sounded nice and her monthly rent was coming up soon. She sighed as she headed back to her house to begin packing.

* * *

Lucy met up with Natsu, Erza and Gray at the train station. They had wanted to take Happy, Carla and Wendy along, but for a capture mission for what they suspected was a dangerous criminal, they didn't want to risk it. Plus, flying cats weren't exactly conspicuous.

The train pulled out of the station with a loud sound of its whistle and Natsu immediately gagged and slumped in his seat, already nauseous. Lucy sighed as she turned away from the poor sight that was Natsu Dragneel. Erza crossed her arms in disappointment while Gray resigned himself to the role of cushion for Natsu's head. Gray ran his hands through Natsu's hair, applying some of his ice magic when every now and then in an attempt to help his lover. Natsu sighed into the cool touch, although it was quickly interrupted by a sudden urge to vomit. The team groaned as the train thundered down the tracks.

* * *

"Welcome, Fairy Tail! Please, take a seat and I will tell you about the job that I have requested of you," the client said as he set teacups on the table. They had arrived at the client's luxurious mansion. They had not been expecting to be helping such a rich client. The team took a seat on the couch as Erza extended her hand forward and reached for a teacup and took a sip.

"So, who is this Alan Ilyvich?" she asked. The client held his hands together in his lap as he looked down, not meeting her gaze.

"He is… my son." Eyebrows were raised at that, but no one questioned him. It wasn't important information nor was it really any of their business. The client continued, "He was a good child. I don't know where I went wrong in raising him. After his mother died, he began to act strangely. Now, he's dyed his hair and is giving out corporate secrets to my competitors!" Lucy frowned.

"So why do you want him captured?"

"I just need to have a talk with him. He won't listen to me otherwise. I also need to find out who he told my secrets to and what he said exactly. Please Fairy Tail, I'm begging you!" The man looked up at them, fear and desperation clear in his features. Gray nodded his head, maintaining his air of professionalism.

"You don't need to worry, sir. We'll bring your son back. Can you tell us where he is or what he looks like?" The client held his chin in his hands as he thought about it.

"Alan has dyed his hair blond. I don't have any pictures of what he looks like now, but here is what he used to look like." The man brought out a photo from his wallet of a young brunet who didn't look any older than twenty. His intelligent black eyes stared back at the team and it was suddenly hard for the team to imagine this boy as rebellious.

"Thank you. We will be sure to find him," Erza promised. Lucy cocked her head to the side.

"That still doesn't explain why the request asked for mages who could go undercover," she pointed out.

"Alan will be attending a party at this location tonight," the man said as he handed Erza a piece of paper. "This will be the easiest time to capture him. I would also like to point out that Alan is extremely skilled with herbs. I don't know who he learned it from but I found a bunch of books about magic herbs in his room. Please be careful, Fairy Tail!" Natsu grinned and slammed his fists together.

"All right! We got this! Don't worry, we'll bring your son back!"

* * *

The sun had set before any of them had realized it. Natsu groaned as he tapped his foot impatiently against the floor. The girls were still upstairs doing their hair and Gray was still in his room, doing who knows what. Natsu rolled his eyes. It was only a party! They didn't have to act like it was a royal ball or anything!

Just then, Natsu heard a door open and saw Gray descend down the stairs. Natsu sucked in a breath.

 _Fuck, he looks hot._

Gray hadn't dressed up much, only thrown on a dark blue dress shirt and a black tie underneath a black suit jacket. He looked similar to Natsu, who had only changed the outfit with his red shirt instead of blue. Gray ran his hand through his hair, pushing it up and Natsu gulped at the sight. Quickly, he grabbed Gray and dragged him into another room.

"Wha—"

The protest never made it fully past his lips.

Natsu wasted no time and slammed Gray against the wall before attacking his lips ferociously. Gray gripped on to the back of Natsu's head as he lost himself to the domineering kiss. Natsu nipped at Gray's bottom lip and was rewarded with a deep moan. The two stayed like that before the need for air overpowered them both and Natsu pulled away, a string of saliva connecting their lips. Natsu hastily wiped his mouth.

"Sorry," he apologized. "You just look… really, really sexy in that." Gray blushed and turned away.

"T-Thanks," he mumbled, embarrassed. "You look good too." The silence continued on for a while longer before Lucy's annoyed voice rang out.

"Guys, hurry up! We don't want to be late for the party!" The two emerged from the room, telltale blushes still on their faces. The girls immediately picked up on it and coughed awkwardly.

"A-Are you two ready to go?" Erza stammered uncharacteristically.

"We didn't do anything! Honest!" Gray said. Lucy coughed into her fist.

"Right… well, let's go!"

* * *

In a word, the party was extravagant. Men and women in formal wear flooded the room, some with masks and some without. Several couples danced on the ballroom floor while many other guests sat at the minibar, enjoying themselves. Lucy held her hand out to Natsu, who accepted it and led her onto the dance floor. Gray headed off to the minibar while Erza stood near the tables, watching everyone's movements. They had discussed the plan earlier. Like this, they could cover every aspect of the party while looking for Alan.

Gray took a seat at the bar before calling the bartender over and ordering ice wine. He was about to order another when a red haired man came up to him.

"Is this seat taken?" he asked. Gray shook his head.

"Not at all. Go ahead." The redhead smiled and slid into the seat comfortably before ordering some beer.

"So what brings you here? Someone like you doesn't seem like the kind of guy to be at parties like this," the man asked. Gray studied the man carefully. He didn't look anything like Alan. His hair was red, not blond and his eyes were blue, not black. He couldn't be Alan. Gray decided to at least be agreeable with the man, even if he had a boyfriend.

"Just thought I'd try it out. Seems like a bore," he laughed. The man grinned and called the bartender over.

"A shot of gin for this young man over here," he ordered. The bartender smiled and immediately prepared it. The shot was handed over to the redhead who gave it to Gray. "It's on me," he smiled charmingly. Gray wanted to frown and refuse, but that might blow his cover as someone suspicious so he smiled politely and downed the shot.

Natsu twirled Lucy around and brought her back as they glided along the dance floor. He was glad that Lucy had taught him social dance once before, so now he didn't have to look like an idiot with two left feet in front of all these strangers. That, and Erza might kill him if he did.

Natsu glanced in the direction of the bar. Every once in a while, Lucy noted, Natsu would turn and check up on Gray, who looked like he was chatting with a stranger. Lucy flinched when she felt her hands get hot. She turned to Natsu with an angry expression.

"Natsu! People are going to get suspicious! And calm down! You're burning me!" she hissed quietly. Natsu looked down guiltily.

"Sorry Lucy. I'm just worried about Gray. I'm getting a bad feeling about the guy he's with."

"Don't worry. Erza is watching the whole thing. She'll know if Gray is in trouble."

* * *

Erza stood by the desserts table, happily eating a piece of strawberry cake. Just because she was on an undercover mission didn't mean that she couldn't enjoy a pastry! Besides, there was nothing abnormal about a girl at the desserts table! Or at least, that was what her reasoning was. She glanced around, catching Natsu and Lucy out of the corner of her eye. Good, it looked like those two were alright. Next she turned to look for Gray. She found him at the bar, chatting with a redhead. Erza raised an eyebrow but went back to her cake. She did not see any trace of Alan anywhere.

* * *

"Ah, excuse me. I'm going to go to the bathroom for a minute," Gray said as he pushed himself off the stool. The second his feet hit the floor, his vision swam and he nearly toppled over. Thankfully, the redhead that he had been chatting with was quick to steady him.

"Are you ok? Do you need me to help you get there?" he asked. Gray tried to tell him that he was fine and that he didn't need his help, but suddenly, he couldn't speak. Obviously taking his silence as a yes, the man slung one of Gray's arms over his shoulders and carried him to the men's room.

Once inside, the redhead set Gray down and propped him against the wall. However, instead of leaving him to hurl the contents of his stomach on the floor like Gray suspected he would do, the man simply stood in front of him and covered his face. Gray wanted to raise his eyebrow in confusion but his entire body felt like lead. The redhead in front of him laughed.

"Honestly, I thought it would be harder than this! But really, what did I expect of dad? Man, he hired some stupid mages!" he exclaimed as he roared with laughter. Gray felt his stomach plummet. Then…

This was Alan. But how?

Alan snorted before a magic circle appeared in his palm and he pressed it to his face. Immediately, the red hair lightened and changed to blond. When Alan opened his eyes, they were black. Gray would've widened his eyes if he could. Transformation magic! How could he be so stupid?!

Alan smiled and crouched down, tilting Gray's chin up. Black bore into dazed black. Alan grinned.

"Honestly, I just came here to get my work over with. But since an opportunity for revenge presented itself, it would be a shame to let it go. After all, the old man will be devastated to hear that the mages he hired were useless." With that, Alan leaned in closer and pressed his lips to Gray's. The ice mage panicked. He couldn't move, couldn't summon any ice, couldn't scream for help. All he could do was sit there and let his target have his way with him. Oh god, he never felt so humiliated in his life.

Alan bit Gray's lip and forced them open with his tongue. Alan's hand began unbuttoning Gray's suit jacket buttons and soon moved on to his dress shirt. When he was finished, Alan ran his hands up and down Gray's chest. Gray was disgusted. He had only ever done this with Natsu and the idea that another man was doing this to him was revolting.

Natsu…

Shit what was Natsu going to say?! Gray was cheating on him with his target! The possessive Dragon Slayer would never forgive him! Sorrow welled up in Gray's chest at the thought. Alan had pulled back from the kiss, a trail of saliva connecting their lips. Gray was reminded painfully of the kiss Natsu and he had shared just before coming to the party.

* * *

"Hey, Erza!" The S-class mage looked up from her conversation with a stranger as Natsu and Lucy approached her. The politely bade the stranger farewell as she turned her attention to the two.

"What is it?"

"The party's almost over. Have you seen Alan?" Lucy asked. Erza shook her head.

"No one that I've seen meets the description. What about you two?" Natsu crossed his arms.

"Nope. Erza, where's Gray?"

"He's at the minibar." Natsu turned in the direction of the minibar, only to come up empty. He turned back to Erza who gave him a firm nod, already seemingly on alert.

Natsu walked briskly up to the minibar, intent on finding his boyfriend. He had a feeling in the bottom of his stomach that something was terribly, terribly wrong and the fact that he couldn't find Gray was not helping the feeling any. He leaned across the counter and waved the bartender down.

"Hey. Have you seen a black haired guy wearing a dark blue dress shirt and a black suit?" The bartender smiled.

"I'm sorry sir, I don't remember what all of the guests look like." Natsu felt his anger rise. Making sure that no one was watching, he reached across the countertop and grabbed a fistful of the bartender's shirt.

"Listen, my boyfriend is missing and I am about five seconds away from setting this whole place on fire. So help a guy out and **tell me where you saw Gray.** "

"H-He and a red-haired man went into the male bathroom," the bartender reported shakily, thoroughly intimidated and possibly traumatized. Natsu released his hold on the poor man and stomped his way into the men's bathroom.

It took every amount of willpower he had not to set the place ablaze.

There was no red-haired man, but there _was_ their target, who was leaning over Gray. Who had his hand on Gray's pants zipper. In a fit of rage, Natsu tore the offender off of his lover and smiled darkly when he heard him slam into the wall behind him. Of course, Natsu wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily. He quickly covered the blond's mouth and gave him a flaming punch to the gut. Alan was knocked out in seconds.

* * *

The threat dealt with, Natsu hurriedly returned to his lover's side.

"Gray? Gray can you hear me?" Natsu placed his hands on either side of Gray's face and forced him to look him in the eye. Gray's eyes had a glazed look to them and a string of unintelligible murmurs was the answer to his question. Natsu sniffed his boyfriend carefully. His canines elongated into fangs as he smelled a foreign scent mixed in with Gray's.

There was no doubt about it.

Gray had been drugged.

Natsu scowled as he shifted the raven's limp form in his arms. He nudged the unconscious form of Alan towards the door. Unsurprisingly, when he opened the door, he found Erza's angry form waiting. However, he was spared her wrath when she caught sight on Gray.

"Natsu! What happened to Gray?! And why is Alan at your feet?" Natsu growled deep in his throat, causing Erza to take a step back warily.

"I'm going to take Gray home. You turn that bastard in to his dad," he said as he made his way towards the door. Lucy watched him go anxiously.

"What was that all about?" Erza stared down at the unconscious blond.

"Clearly, Alan was foolish enough to try something with Gray."

* * *

Natsu gently deposited Gray onto the bed. He knew that the raven was awake and conscious of what was going on, but Natsu had had yet to receive a coherent response from him. Despite the hands shaking in rage by this side, Natsu reached up and cupped Gray's cheek lovingly and gave him a kiss on the lips.

"I know you can hear me, Gray. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. If I did, then maybe you wouldn't have had to go through that…"

Gray struggled in his own body with all his might, willing it to move. He could hear the sorrow in his lover's voice.

 _Move, damnit! I need to let Natsu know I'm ok!_

It might have been Gray's imagination, but he thought he felt the corner of his mouth twitch. It was really hard to tell when his entire body felt like lead. Again, he willed his mouth to move and form words. Natsu, with his enhanced hearing, heard the mumbling from Gray and hovered over Gray's mouth in an attempt to hear what he had to say.

"Na…Nat…su…" Gray said haltingly. Natsu sat back up, overjoyed despite the situation.

"Thank god! I was so scared. I'm so sorry Gray!" Gray attempted to laugh.

"S'ok… you were… busy…" he managed. Natsu shook his head vehemently.

"Even if I was! I should've looked out for you! Are you ok? Did he do anything to you?"

"Mmm… kissed a li'l… touched… chest…" Natsu felt his anger return and he smashed his lips on Gray's. Not that the raven complained. After what he had gone through, he was eager to rid himself of the memory of Alan's touch.

Natsu pulled away and laid down next to his lover.

"I won't let anything like that happen to you again," he swore. Gray smiled warmly at him and Natsu grinned back. He pulled Gray closer to him and moved Gray's head so that it was in the crook of his neck. "Get some sleep. The drug will be out of your system by then. I'll watch over you, so don't worry." Gray wanted to protest that he didn't need Natsu to look out for him but sleep sounded like a lifesaver at the moment. Gray fell asleep almost instantly and Natsu was soon to follow. The two slept like that, on top of the blankets, hugging each other tight.

* * *

 **Chapter 10, done! How was it? I hope you guys liked it and I hope I did your prompt justice, guest!**

 **Ok, so this fic was originally based on requests. Honestly, I didn't expect to get a lot. I have another fic in the works so I really need to focus on that. So this fic is going to be 13 chapters! Thank you so much to everyone who sent in requests! I'll see you guys at the next update! Leave me some reviews! ^~^**


	11. That Time You Forgot About Me

**The angsty writer in me seriously enjoyed this XD This prompt is from Nova Mode!**

 **Prompt:** **On a mission, team Natsu defeats a dark guild but the master of guild uses the last of his/her power and curses Natsu by "taking away something that is dear/precious to his heart" when he reunites with his friends it turns out that Gray has completely forgotten who Natsu is (just Natsu) and that's what the curse is.**

 **Mwahaha! Enjoy guys!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.**

 **Read and Review!**

* * *

An explosion rocked the dark guild's hideout as Team Natsu rampaged inside. They had taken a quick mission to subdue a dark guild by the name of Sable Curse. The reward hadn't been much, but it was enough to cover the remainder of Lucy's rent so the team had taken the job.

Natsu frowned as he sent a flaming punch the guild master's way. Of course, the woman dodged elegantly and sent purple waves churning back at him. Natsu spewed fire and made a small explosion between the two. Natsu quickly glanced back in the direction that he had come. He had left Erza with Gray and Lucy with Wendy. They had offered to take out the rest of the dark guild members while he went and tracked down the master, given his enhanced sense of smell and hearing. Natsu immediately turned back when he heard footsteps rushing his way and dodged to the side just in time for a fist enclosed in a purple aura to punch the air where his head had just been. Not wasting the opportunity, Natsu immediately, shifted his centre of gravity lower and slammed his fist into the guild master's back.

"Guh! Bastard!" the guild master swore as she turned, only to get a flaming kick in the side, sending her flying backwards into a wall. The guild master slid down, defeated. Natsu stepped forward, towering over the guild master's form. She sneered at him. "You may think that you've won… but I won't go down like this without it costing you!" Purple wisps coiled around her hand before darting off up the staircase, away from the two. Natsu watched them go.

"What did you just do?" he demanded. The woman laughed weakly.

"I've taken away something precious to your heart."

* * *

Gray stumbled and pressed a hand to his head. Erza was immediately by his side, steadying him.

"Are you alright?" she asked. Gray looked up weakly, a bead of sweat rolling down his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I don't know what happened, but I'm ok now." Erza nodded as she turned in the direction of the exit.

"Ok. Come on, we have to regroup with the others."

* * *

Natsu hauled the guild master's unconscious body up and out of the hideout. He immediately smiled at the sight of his teammates all waiting for him. He quickly made his way over to them and tied her up along with her lackeys.

"Phew. That was an easy mission!" he exclaimed. Lucy put her hands on her hips.

"At least you didn't destroy anything this time!" Natsu pouted.

"Come on! It's not that bad even when I do destroy things!"

"Natsu! You will not destroy anything that you do not need to!" Erza ordered. Natsu visibly shrunk and answered with a meek,

"Aye." Wendy looked up at Gray, who had up until then, been silent.

"What's the matter, Gray-san?" Gray turned to her, scratching his head.

"Ah… well it's nothing really but… Wendy who is that?" The petite Dragon Slayer turned in the direction of Gray's gaze. There was only Natsu.

"Who are you talking about, Gray-san?"

"That pink haired guy." At this, Natsu turned towards his lover, feeling as if he had swallowed lead.

"What…? What are you talking about, Gray? It's me," he tried anxiously. The raven shook his head.

"I don't know you."

* * *

The minute the train stopped in Magnolia, Natsu was off and running. Happy attempted to follow after him, but soon stopped as he realized that the Dragon Slayer wanted to be alone right then. Happy's head fell and Lucy brought the Exceed close to her chest, stroking his fur softly in an attempt to cheer him up. Wendy looked off worriedly in the direction that Natsu had left. She couldn't imagine how Natsu felt. His lover had forgotten all about him.

"Gray," Erza's voice cut through her thoughts. "Do you really not remember Natsu?" The raven shook his head.

"I don't," he answered. Lucy looked his way worriedly.

"What about everyone else? Do you know who we are?"

"Yeah. You're Lucy Heartfilia, a celestial spirit mage and you're holding onto Happy, an Exceed. That's Wendy, the Sky Dragon Slayer and Carla the Exceed. Finally, that's Erza Scarlet, the strongest woman in Fairy Tail and my childhood friend." Wendy's gaze turned downward.

"Natsu-san is your childhood friend too, Gray-san." _And he's also your lover._ Gray scratched his head.

"I really don't know the guy, Wendy. Are you sure he's my friend?"

"Yes, Gray," Erza answered. "Come on, Lucy and I will go to the guild with you. There's bound to be something that will jog your memory."

* * *

Natsu slammed the door to his house, not caring that many birds flew off at the sudden loud noise. He crouched down and leaned against his door, head in his hands. Gray had… forgotten about him. That was the reality that he was faced with and _god_ did it _hurt_. He thought back to the words of Sable Curse's guildmaster.

 _"I've taken away something precious to your heart."_

Natsu wanted to plead and scream; anything to bring Gray back to him. All the memories from childhood, all the fights and the moments they shared together; all gone. Natsu felt tears trickle down his cheeks.

"Gray… Gray!" Natsu repeated the name of his lover over and over again, praying that it would bring him back. Bring his memories back. Alone in the quiet solace of his room, Natsu cried for the first time in a long time.

* * *

"What about this mission?" Lucy asked as she handed a job flyer to Gray. She and Erza watched Gray's reaction carefully. The raven cocked his head to the side curiously.

"This was… the Galuna Island mission," he stated slowly. Lucy nodded. Gray was bound to remember something about Natsu! That mission had been the start of their whole relationship! There was no way that he could forget about everything that had transpired during that mission!

"Do you remember what it was about?" she asked, masking her anticipation. Gray was silent for a long time.

"Lyon… was there," he said finally. "He was trying to revive Deliora," the name sent a shudder through Gray's frame, "and it an S-class mission that you and Happy took without permission. Erza and I had to come bring you two back." Lucy's shoulders sagged.

"Was it really only me and Happy? Was there anyone else?"

"Anyone… else?" Gray thought back harder.

Galuna Island…

The memory of him getting beaten up by Lyon the first time flashed in his mind.

Lyon…

He had been left there for dead. Lyon hadn't finished him off. And then… what had happened? He had blacked out… And when he had woken up… There was someone in front of him.

 _"Get up Gray! Get up!"_

The girls watched in worry as Gray seemed to get lost in thought. They had not known what to expect when Lucy had told him to think harder if anyone else had been on that mission, so when Gray suddenly pressed his hand to his forehead in pain, they were rushing to his side.

"Gray? Gray! What's wrong?" The ice mage took deep breaths as he tried to calm his breathing.

"I-I'm not sure… I thought I heard someone's voice but then there was this flash of purple and my head started to hurt…" Erza raised an eyebrow.

"Whose voice did you hear, Gray?"

"I'm not sure… it sounded male and he seemed really annoyed." Lucy and Erza exchanged looks. It was obvious that Gray had heard Natsu's voice. Good. They were getting somewhere.

"Erza-san! Lucy-san!" Wendy called. Erza stood up and maneuvered herself around the stacks of flyers and files that littered the floor.

"What is it, Wendy? How's Natsu?" she asked. She had sent the young Dragon Slayer to check on Natsu, afraid of leaving the rosette by himself. Clearly, if Wendy was back this soon, something was wrong.

"I think you or Lucy-san should go talk to him. Natsu-san… is extremely upset," she reported. Erza nodded and turned back to Lucy.

"Lucy, can you go to Natsu's house? I'll stay here with Wendy and we'll go through more missions with Gray." Lucy nodded and made her way out of the guild's storage. She didn't notice a pair of midnight blue eyes watch her leave.

* * *

"Natsu? Natsu, open up," Lucy shouted as she banged on the door with urgency. Of course, as she expected the door didn't open. Lucy grumbled, annoyed. "Natsu, come on! You can't sulk like this!"

"Yes I can! You don't understand, Lucy!" came the childish retort. Lucy blinked, surprised. But Natsu wasn't finished. "What's the point of anything? Gray doesn't remember me! He doesn't love me anymore!" he wailed. Lucy was taken back. She hadn't expected a reply like that. She resumed her "knocking".

"Come on Natsu! Gray might remember you! He actually remembered a little bit earlier!" At that, the door swung open, revealing a teary eyed, but hopeful, Natsu.

"Really? What did he remember?" Lucy smiled at him.

"A little about the Galuna Island mission." Natsu felt his eyes widen and he laughed. Gray had remembered! However little it was, Gray had remembered him! Wiping away the tears in his eyes, he smiled.

 _Gray…_

* * *

Gray walked down the streets of Magnolia, deep in thought. The job flyers that Erza had shown them had all been about jobs with this Natsu character. Gray held his chin in his hands as he continued on his way. Natsu, huh? The name had begun to sound familiar after a while, even though he had suffered from a major headache immediately afterwards. Gray groaned as he felt another come on. He looked up, only to find himself in front of a house that wasn't his. Gray looked around. His feet had brought him to the middle of a forest. He was just about to turn and leave when the door swung open to reveal none other than Natsu.

His feet had subconsciously brought him to Natsu's house.

"Gray? Why are you here?" he asked. Of course, Gray could tell that Natsu was happy that he was here. Gray looked down, not wanted to dash his hopes by saying that his feet had brought him here of their own accord. From the looks of it, that would crush the poor rosette.

"Umm… I wanted to ask you some stuff," was the lame excuse he came up with. He mentally smacked himself.

 _Stupid Gray! Why would you say something so stupid?!_

Natsu however, did not seem to think that was a stupid thing to say.

"Oh… well come on in I guess," he said as he turned and walked back into his house. Gray's legs carried him inside, his mind being too surprised to function. Natsu took a seat on his hammock and gestured to the couch across from him for Gray to sit on. The raven quietly obeyed. "So what did you want to ask about?" Natsu asked. Gray started, panicked.

 _Oh shit I forgot to think of questions!_

"Umm… are you really my childhood friend?" he blurted out. Oh god he wanted to crawl into a hole right now! Natsu didn't poke fun at the question and simply answered with a short,

"Yes." Gray blinked and forced himself to ask more, finding it easier to relax around Natsu.

"How did we meet?"

"Gramps brought me into the guild. You had joined the guild before me and when we first met, we immediately fought." Natsu let out a sad chuckle at the fond memory.

"What did we fight about?" Gray asked curiously. Natsu snorted.

"Anything and everything." Then he cast his gaze down to stare at his lap. "You were and still are my biggest rival and my best friend." Gray took in the words slowly. He gulped. He had another question now, based on what Natsu had said and how he had acted the entire time. But could he really ask that? What would Natsu say?

"Umm Natsu…" Gray began. The Dragon Slayer looked up and Gray was shocked to see tears in the rosette's eyes. He sucked in a sharp breath. His heart was pounding and his chest felt tight.

Would he really feel that way if Natsu was really only his best friend?

No… no, he wouldn't.

* * *

Natsu cursed at himself. He had been fine earlier, answering Gray's questions about their relationship with ease. Why was he tearing up? What a pointless question. He already knew the answer to that. He couldn't bear the idea of Gray not knowing who he was. He had been happy when he had heard from Lucy that Gray had remembered a little bit and ecstatic that Gray had showed up at his doorstep. But here and now, talking about their past with Gray like the raven hadn't been there, hurt more than he could've imagined. Natsu watched as Gray gulped and he opened his mouth to ask another question.

"Were we anything more than that?"

Natsu's felt his heart leap as he heard Gray's question. Had he really…

"Could you… repeat that?" he said quietly. He watched as Gray gulped nervously and repeated his question. Natsu's eyes widened. Gray really _had_ asked that… Had he remembered a little more about Natsu just from his questions?

Gray took Natsu's silence the wrong way. He thought that Natsu was appalled by the idea of dating a guy. He turned away, blush on his cheeks, not from embarrassment, but from shame.

"I'm sorry… I don't know what I was—"

"Yes!" Natsu interrupted. Gray's eyes widened.

"W-What?"

"Yes we were! We _are!_ " Natsu confirmed. Gray sat there in stunned silence and Natsu took matters into his own hands. He couldn't stand the awkwardness anymore! He couldn't stand Gray not remembering him anymore! He stood up and briskly closed the distance between them. Tilting Gray's chin up, he crashed his lips onto the cool ones that he had all but memorized.

Gray's eyes were the size of saucers. Natsu was… Natsu was kissing him! A man that he barely even remembered was kissing him! His mind was screaming at him to pull away but his body was leaning into the kiss, savouring it. Gray's hands rose and found their place around Natsu's neck as if they belonged there. Who knew, Gray mused. Maybe they did. As the kiss continued, images flashed through Gray's mind, all of the rosette in front of him. The purple fog that had blocked the memories earlier in the guild faded away into nothing and Gray watched memory by memory play over in his mind.

When Natsu finally pulled away, he looked aside, ashamed and embarrassed. Gray didn't even remember him and yet here he was kissing the living daylights out of him. Natsu had expected yelling and outraged screaming so he was pleasantly surprised when all he heard was a whispered,

"Flame Brain…" Natsu was about to play it off as the usual when something occurred to him. Gray didn't remember him. That meant that he didn't remember any of the stupid nicknames that they had for each other. If Gray was calling Natsu a flame brain then that meant that…

"I remember, Natsu."

Natsu couldn't contain his joy as he all but tackled Gray down, pulling him into another passionate kiss. Natsu attacked Gray's lips again and again, letting his relief and love show. He could feel Gray smiling into the kisses and gave him one final peck on the lips before enveloping him in a bone crushing hug.

"You idiot! Never forget about me again! I don't care if it was some stupid magic's fault! You worried me, you bastard!" Gray chuckled as he turned his head and pecked Natsu on his cheek.

"I'm sorry, Natsu. But maybe next time you shouldn't give your opponent so many openings," he teased. Natsu laughed.

"Oh? Getting cocky, are we? I'm the stronger one here, Ice Princess!"

"Oh sure you are." Gray rolled his eyes sarcastically. "We both know that I'm stronger than you are and I have been since we were kids."

"Like hell! I'll take you on anytime!"

"Right now then!"

The two wrestled on the floor for a while, before they stopped, panting on Natsu's floor, hands intertwined. The two caught their breath before Natsu rolled over to face Gray. Gray, hearing the commotion, rolled over onto his side as well. Natsu reached his hands out and hugged Gray closer to him by his waist.

"I'm glad you remember me, Gray. I really don't know what I would do without you." Gray smiled and brought his forehead to Natsu's.

"Same goes for me. I love you Natsu. I'm really sorry I forgot about you for a while."

"As long as you never do it again. Next time, I might not forgive you." Gray laughed.

"I don't plan on making this more than a one time occurrence."

"Good! Now let me cuddle you! I'm sleepy," the Dragon Slayer said as he yawned and closed his eyes. Gray laughed and closed his eyes as well, joining his lover in the land of dreams.

* * *

When Lucy and Wendy went to Natsu's house to check up on him, they were pleasantly surprised to find them tangled in one another. Lucy smiled and the sight and Wendy looked up at her.

"I'm so relieved! It looks like Gray-san has remembered everything!" Lucy nodded and closed the door as quietly as she could, leaving the two lovers to their dreams about one another.

* * *

 **11 oneshots, done! 2 more to go! I hope you liked it Nova Mode! Everyone else too! See you guys next chapter! Leave me some reviews! ^^**


	12. That Time You Were Paralyzed

**Ok, I seriously want to finish this fic before school starts because god knows I won't have time to write when it does!**

 ***AGGRESSIVELY WRITES FANFICTION***

 **Ahem, anyway, this prompt is from PokeTail!**

 **Prompt: While on a job, team Natsu are attacked by some dark wizards who want to kill Natsu. Gray protects Natsu and takes the blow for him, knocking him out and making him hospitalised. Turns out he's temporarily paralysed. Natsu gets really over protective over Gray since he blames himself.**

 **This one is set before Oracion Seis. That's why there's no Wendy or Carla.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail!**

 **Read and Review!**

* * *

Natsu scowled at the mages in front of him. He and his team had taken a job near Hargeon to defeat a monster, but on their way to the monster's lair, they had run into these guys. Gray smirked at them.

"Something tells me that you guys aren't with our client," he remarked dryly. A man, who looked to be the leader of the group, scoffed.

"So we've got ourselves a wise guy. Look, just hand over the Salamander and no one gets hurt, alright?" This time, Gray growled at them.

"You want my Natsu? Like hell you bastards are getting him!" With that, the dark mages charged forward, hands aglow with magic. Team Natsu stood back to back before spreading out to defeat them.

Expectedly, it did not take long until the dark mages lay sprawled on the ground, having been decimated by the Fairy Tail mages. Natsu laughed.

"For all their big talk, they sure were easy to beat!"

Erza nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Well, now that that's taken care of, let's be on our way to the monster's lair."

"Aye!" Happy cheered. The group turned and continued on their way when shuffling was heard behind them. The team turned to find the leader of the dark mages standing, although just barely. He sent a cocky smirk in Natsu's direction before a magic circle appeared on his palm and a jet of black miasma was sent flying out.

What happened next was a blur.

One second Natsu was staring at the attack about to hit him, the next he was on the ground with Gray on top of him. Blinking, he came out of his stupor and sat up, pulling Gray closer to his body as he did so. The dark mage in front of him grinned before toppling over, unconscious once more.

But that was hardly Natsu's concern at the moment.

Natsu shook Gray gently, trying to rouse the unconscious ice mage. Natsu's concern grew as he spoke softly to Gray, trying to wake the raven and get an answer.

"Gray? What's wrong? Talk to me." When there was no answer, Erza had gave Natsu the go ahead to take Gray back to the guild. She, Lucy and Happy would take care of the dark mages as well as the monster.

* * *

Natsu flew down the pavement with Gray in his arms. Immediately after the train stopped, he had picked Gray up and raced towards the guild. As the building came into view, Natsu kicked the door open with a loud slam. He ran towards the infirmary while shouting,

"Jii-chan! I need your help!" The door slammed shut, leaving the rest of the guild curious as to what had happened on the mission.

When Makarov entered the room, Natsu immediately jumped to his feet from the stool that he had been sitting on.

"What seems to be the problem?" the old man asked.

"Something happened to Gray on our mission, jii-chan! Do something!" Just as he said this, Gray's fingers twitched and his blue eyes opened slowly. Natsu was immediately by his side. "Gray! How do you feel? What's wrong?"

Gray groaned as he placed a hand to his head. "What happened? Where am I?"

Natsu smiled gently at him. "You're at Fairy Tail. You passed out on our mission and no one seemed to know why so Erza told me to bring you back here."

Gray nodded as he accepted the answer, though a little frustrated. He turned back to Natsu. "Natsu, is there something on my legs?" The rosette frowned and shook his head.

"No. Why? What's wrong?" Gray's eyes widened as he hurriedly sat up and stared at his legs. Natsu's concern returned full force as he placed a hand on Gray's shoulder.

"Gray? What's wrong?"

"N-Natsu… I can't feel my legs."

Makarov decided to intervene at this point. He stepped forward, his hand on Gray's left leg.

"Tell me Gray, what happened?"

"Well, on our mission we ran into some dark mages who wanted to kill Natsu. We took them all out, but there was this guy that came to and attacked Natsu with this weird black mist. I tackled him down and I felt something hit my hard on the back."

Makarov nodded as he hollered, "Jet, go bring Porlyusica!"

A fading "Got it!" could be heard before the three were left in silence once again. Makarov coughed into his palm and left the two alone, sensing an awkward atmosphere.

* * *

Gray crossed his arms as he frowned at his lover. Natsu had yet to say a word to him after the news and quite frankly, it was starting to piss him off. He sighed as he knew exactly why the normally boisterous Dragon Slayer was as quiet as a mouse.

"Stop blaming yourself, Flame Brain. It's not your fault." At that, Natsu's head snapped up, the thoughts that had been swarming in his mind verbally rebuked.

"It is… if I had been quicker to react then you wouldn't have had to tackle me…" Natsu trailed off. Gray rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Look Natsu, I would've pushed you out of the way no matter what. My body just moved on its own. You probably _would've_ dodged it. It's my fault ok?"

Natsu shook his head. He was about to retort when the door opened to reveal Porlyusica. The pink haired healer has a scowl on her face, as usual, but did not hesitate to make her way over to her patient's bed, muttering about stupid humans.

The diagnosis was not long and it was what Gray and Natsu had both known and feared.

Paralysis.

"Don't worry, you fools. It doesn't seem to be permanent. I can't cure it though. I don't even know when it will go away. For the time being, he should stay in this infirmary. If he has to move, you might want to invest in a wheelchair." The word wheelchair echoed in both boys' mind, haunting them. Natsu stood abruptly from his seat.

"You have to do something! Gray can't go on missions in a wheelchair! You're a doctor! Fix him!" Porlyusica's eyebrow twitched. Just as she was obviously about to snap at the rosette, Gray chimed in,

"Thank you, Porlyusica-san. We'll definitely look into it." The pink haired healer looked like she still wanted to answer Natsu back with something scathing, but she huffed and accepted Gray's thanks and left to inform Makarov of the boy's condition.

"Natsu, what was _that_?" Gray demanded. The Dragon Slayer had the decency to look ashamed.

"'m sorry…" he mumbled. "But she should be able to help you! She's a healer!"

Gray groaned. "Natsu, she even said it was only temporary! What more do you want from her?"

"I want her to fix your legs!"

"Godamnit Natsu is it that big of a deal?! It's not like the world has ended!"

Natsu was taken aback by Gray's anger. He didn't understand; why was Gray so mad?

"Gray? I'm sorry…" Natsu apologized. Gray sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too. It _is_ a little hard to accept and I guess I took it out on you a bit," Gray admitted. Natsu shook his head.

"You don't have anything to apologise for…"

There was a long silence between the two until Natsu spoke again.

"Hey Gray, are really going to stay in here?" The raven looked up, confused.

"Yeah. Where else would I go?"

"My house! I can't leave you alone when you can't use your legs!"

Gray growled, upset at all but being called an invalid. "Of course you can! I'm perfectly capable of doing things myself! Besides, Porlyusica-san told me to stay in here!"

Natsu pouted and gave Gray puppy eyes. "Please Gray? I feel responsible so at least let me do this," he pleaded. Gray groaned as he covered his face with his hands. He was sucker to Natsu's puppy dog eyes and the Dragon Slayer knew it. He mumbled out some sort of consent in demonic tongue and watched as Natsu's expression turned from begging to ecstatic in milliseconds.

"Yeah yeah, just take it up with Porlyusica-san first," Gray grumbled.

* * *

"Absolutely not. He should not be moved right now. You could damage his legs even more and then there will be hell to deal with!" Porlyusica snapped. Natsu wanted to protest but Makarov sent him a glare that shut him up instantly.

"Thank you, Porlyusica. We'll keep Gray in the infirmary. Thank you for coming."

Porlyusica huffed in disdain. "Next time don't make me leave my own house!" she shouted as she left the office. Makarov laughed as he moved so that he was in front of Natsu.

"Natsu…" he began.

"But jii-chan! It's my fault Gray is paralyzed! I should at least take care of him!" Natsu argued. Makarov sighed.

"Indeed, you should. But you can't move him just yet. You can take care of him in the infirmary, can't you?" Makarov asked. Natsu pouted but nodded. The old man smiled. "Then you should get back to Gray. I'm sure he's wondering where you are."

"So I'm stuck in here, right?" Gray asked. Natsu nodded. Gray sighed as he flopped back onto his pillow. "Well, I sort of expected that. There was no way— Natsu what are you doing?"

Natsu looked up curiously. "What does it look like? I'm making myself comfortable."

"Yeah, I know. But why?"

"Why? Because I'm going to stay here with you."

"What?! Why?!" Gray demanded.

"Why else? It was my fault that you were hurt so I'm going to take care of you until you're better."

"Natsu…" Gray said warningly. But Natsu was having none of it.

"I couldn't take you back to my house so I'm just going to take care of you here. Please Gray?" Gray shook his head, getting an odd sense of déjà vu.

"Fine, fine. Now come over here and cuddle me so we can get some sleep. I'm tired."

* * *

The next morning, Gray regretted his decision to let Natsu take care of him. He had asked for food and the Dragon Slayer had returned with enough food to feed an army. And of course, he had insisted on feeding Gray. That was where he drew the line.

"Damnit Natsu, I can't move my feet not my hands! Let me feed myself!"

"Gray, please?" Natsu begged.

Damn those puppy eyes.

After Natsu had fed Gray his breakfast, he started on his own. Gray watched as his lover all but inhaled the leftover food. He laughed. That was Natsu's appetite for you. Watching Natsu devour all that food like it was nothing almost made him forget that he was stuck in bed for who knew how long. Gray sighed as he looked down at his legs, willing them to move.

Nothing.

Natsu watched Gray silently as his lover tried to move his legs. Seeing the frustration on Gray's face made him guiltier than he already was. When Gray flopped back down on the bed annoyed, Natsu spoke up.

"I'm really sorry." Gray turned his head to the rosette.

"How many times do I have to tell you? It wasn't your fault."

"Still… it must be annoying not being able to move."

Gray thought about this. "Yeah, it is. But I guess it could be worse. My hands could be paralyzed too."

Natsu cringed. "I don't even want to think about that."

"Good. Things could be worse. Now is that enough to snap you out of your self-blaming funk, Flame Brain?" Natsu blinked as Gray's words sunk in. He laughed lightly and smiled at his lover.

"Really Ice Princess? Did you really have to do that?"

Gray smirked back at him. "Apparently so. Now come over here and kiss me."

Natsu smiled and climbed on top of the bed, his lips hovering over Gray's. "As you wish." He pressed his lips against Gray's cool ones and smiled when he heard Gray make a content noise. Playfully, he nipped at Gray's lower lip and smiled when Gray made whining noise. Teasingly, he pulled away and smirked down at his lover.

"Natsu you damn tease," Gray muttered. Just as Natsu was about to dive down and claim his lover's lips again, the door opened to reveal Erza, Lucy and Happy. Lucy and Erza immediately flushed bright red while Happy put his paws over his mouth.

"He _likessss_ him!"

"Excuse us for intruding!" Erza shouted as she grabbed the door and slammed it closed. Natsu and Gray couldn't help but laugh as Natsu got off of Gray and took his seat on the stool.

"You can come in now Erza," Gray called. The door opened again and the two still very much flustered girls entered the room.

"W-We just came to give you your share of the reward," Erza explained. Natsu laughed.

"Thanks, Erza." Lucy strode up to Gray.

"Gray, how are you feeling?"

Gray didn't see any point in hiding his condition. "I'm paralyzed from waist down, Lucy."

"…Oh."

Erza was next to speak. "Do you need anything Gray? Water, food or perhaps a book?" Just as Gray was about to answer, Natsu cut in.

"No, it's ok Erza. I'm taking care of him. You guys can go hang out with the others or something." Erza raised an eyebrow at this but figured that Natsu felt responsible and so she complied with his wishes, Lucy and Happy following her.

"You're too overprotective sometimes," Gray mused. Natsu frowned.

"Maybe, but it's not always a bad thing."

Gray snorted. "Whatever you say, Natsu."

* * *

Three weeks passed by with Gray bedridden. It seemed as if Gray's paralysis would never be cured. Gray sighed as he flipped the page of the book he was reading. It was already late into the night and everyone had left. Only he and Natsu were left in the guild. The Dragon Slayer had been taking care of Gray for the past three weeks, always by his side and fetching whatever the ice mage needed. While it was endearing, it sometimes pissed Gray off. Granted, he was a little more vulnerable like this, but that didn't mean that he was incapable of doing anything!

A knock on the door brought him out of his musings.

"Natsu? Is that you?" When there was no answer, Gray was immediately worried. "Natsu? Natsu, stop fooling around." The door creaked open and a man that Gray had never seen before stepped into the room.

"Sorry, I'm not the Salamander. But you're going to help me lure him out."

Natsu sighed as he dried his hair, having just stepped out of the shower. It had already been three weeks since Gray had been paralyzed. But there had been no signs of improvement. Was the paralysis really only temporary? Was Gray ever going to be able to do missions with him again? Natsu sighed as he pulled on his boxers and pants. He threw on a shirt and wrapped his scarf around his neck. He had just exited the showers when he heard Gray scream.

Instantly, he dropped the dirty clothes that he was holding and bolted over to the infirmary, dreading the worst. The door to the infirmary slammed open and Natsu felt his flames lick angrily across his skin at the sight that greeted him. A man that Natsu had never seen held Gray's throat tightly and the raven was sputtering, beginning to turn blue from the lack of oxygen. The man grinned and released Gray, the raven choking and heaving in lungfuls of air. Natsu growled, deep and feral.

"Who are you?" The man looked appalled that Natsu didn't know him but soon collected himself.

"My name is Sora. I was the one who hired those dark mages three weeks ago." Natsu's flames roared within him and it took all of his self-restraint not to burn the man in front of him to ashes.

 _It was_ him _…_

 _He was the one…_

 _The one who caused Gray to be hurt._

"Obviously, you don't know who I am. I was the one in charge of the Bosco Trading Company. Of course, it doesn't exist anymore because _you_ turned us in to the Magic Council."

"It was my job! Besides, you were selling drugs!"

"That isn't the point! You took my life's work away from me, Salamander. You'll pay with your life! Even if I have to take it myself!" Sora whipped out a gun from his back pocket and trained it on the Dragon Slayer. However, before he had a chance to shoot, Natsu flew a blanket of flame his way.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" He tried to keep the damage minimal, since he was still in the guild and Gray was too close to Sora. The last thing he wanted was Gray to get hurt.

The former business man fell to his knees in an excruciating amount of pain. Never before in his life had he had to endure such heat. Sora looked up at Natsu, who now stood in front of him looking enraged.

"You caused Gray to be hurt. Never let me see your face again or I _will_ burn you into a pile of fucking ash." Terrified, it was all Sora could do to run away screaming. Natsu sighed as the tension of the battle drained out of him. He turned to Gray who was rubbing his throat. "You ok?" The raven looked up at him.

"I'll live."

Natsu gave him a cocky smirk. "This is why it's good to be overprotective."

Gray rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah, go on and brag." Instead of the smug gloating that Gray expected to hear, he felt warm hands encircle his waist.

"I'm sorry I was late. He hurt you."

Gray smiled and reached up behind him to ruffle Natsu's hair. "Don't worry about it. You really helped me out ok? Thanks," he said as he turned and pecked Natsu on the lips. The Dragon Slayer smiled softly as he toppled over sideways, bringing Gray down with him. "Natsu? Did he hurt you somewhere?"

"Nah. I just wanna sleep and cuddle."

Gray laughed and closed his eyes. "Good night, Natsu."

"Good night, Gray."

* * *

For the next week, Natsu's overprotectiveness seemed to have doubled. After the encounter with Sora, it really was no wonder, but still, it annoyed Gray a little. The day that marked one month after Gray had been paralyzed, Natsu was lying on top of Gray, taking a nap. Gray smiled as he gently carded his hand through Natsu's hair. Natsu had really run himself ragged taking care of him. Gray watched as Natsu wrinkled his nose and shifted in his sleep. Gray laughed to himself. It was so different from the usual dominant Dragon Slayer.

Gray suddenly winced as he felt a pain in his legs. He nudged Natsu awake.

"Hey Natsu, can you get off my legs for a second? You're kinda heavy."

Natsu mumbled something and moved off of his lover's legs. Just as he shook himself awake, he seemed to realise something.

"Hold on, did you just say that I was heavy?"

Gray looked up. "Yeah. What of it?"

Natsu jumped up and rocked back and forth on his heels excitedly. "You have feeling in your legs!" he cheered. Gray's eyes widened as he tried to move his leg and was overjoyed to find it moving. Steeling himself, Gray swung his legs so that they hung off the side of the bed facing Natsu. The rosette watched with bated breath as Gray slowly slid off the bead, easing more and more of his weight onto his legs. Natsu watched as Gray stood for one second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Gray didn't falter in the slightest and Natsu launched a flying tackle on the ice mage. Thankfully, Gray retained his balance and the two weren't sent sprawling onto the bed. Natsu eagerly attached himself to Gray's lips and the two shared a passionate kiss. Natsu pulled away first, smiling brightly.

"It took you long enough to get better, Gray!"

"Ha! Sorry, Flame Brain."

Natsu rolled his eyes. He excitedly tugged his lover's hand and headed towards the door.

"Come on! Let's do a mission together! It's been a while!"

"Already? I was bedridden not even five minutes ago, Natsu," Gray laughed.

"You can shake it off. But if you ever do something stupid like this again, I swear to god Gray I will kick your ass," Natsu threatened. Gray smiled and pecked his lover on the nose.

"Wouldn't dream of it. Now let's go pick out a mission."

* * *

 **Halfway through, I realized that I wrote the prompt wrong and then I had to go back and change a bunch of stuff. That's why it took a bit longer than I'd expected.I also feel like Natsu is a little OOC here... I sure hope he doesn't seem that way.**

 **Anyway, I hope you liked it PokeTail and I hope everyone enjoyed! See you in the last chapter~**


	13. That Time After A Year

**Hey guys! Last chapter! This prompt seemed good to end off with. This prompt is from sktrgrl13!**

 **Prompt: Avatar Arc: Natsu and Gray meeting up for the first time after the Time Skip - after Gray saves Lucy, Happy and Natsu they couldnt be happier that they are reunited, but even though only a year has passed, its enough time to gain more emotional baggage :D Natsu and Gray reconnecting with each other after a year apart... FEELS!**

 **Here we go! Prepare for angst and tooth rotting fluff :)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does!**

 **Read and Review!**

* * *

Natsu stared wide eyed at his lover. While he hadn't truly believed that Gray had gone over to the dark side despite what he had told Lucy, he hadn't thought that Gray would show up to save them. He was even more surprised when Gray tousled his hair and pulled something from his pocket.

"Ah man, you guys have gone and ruined everything!" Gray swiped his finger across the screen of whatever he had in his hand and pressed it against his ear. "Hey, Code Blue here. We've got trouble." Natsu watched in relief as the black markings covering his lover's body began to fade and ebb away into nothing.

Distracted by his thoughts, he almost didn't notice when Gray tossed the device over to him.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Press it against your ear," was the only command that Gray gave. Natsu frowned as he did so, not quite understanding what was happening. His eyes widened and he turned to stare at Gray when he heard the voice coming in through the device at his ear.

"Natsu is that you? My my, looks like Gray's stealth mission has gone up in flames."

"Erza?!" Natsu shouted, surprised at both his childhood friend and the device that Gray had thrown at him. Gray nodded.

"That's a miniature communications lacrima. It allows me to report to Erza whatever I find out about the Avatar guild. I wouldn't be hanging around these lowlifes otherwise." Lucy sighed in relief.

"Then you're ok, right? Nothing is possessing you or anything?" Gray smiled at her.

"Yeah. I'm 100% me, Lucy, don't you worry. And I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I had to, to keep my cover."

"Oh no, I'm sorry I slapped you." Gray grinned cheekily at her.

"Well you did it in that maid costume, so I guess I'll forgive you." Natsu growled lightly, watching Gray flirt with Lucy. Sure it had been a year since they had seen each other, but that was no excuse for Gray to start flirting with his teammate! Especially when he was taken!

"Gray, stop flirting with Lucy," Natsu grounded out. Gray turned to Natsu, an icy glare on his face; one that Natsu had never seen Gray give him.

"Come on. I'll explain what we have to do on the way. We can't afford to waste any more time."

* * *

"So… what have you been up to for the past year?" Natsu asked awkwardly. They were on their way to Malba City, where the "purification" was supposed to be held. They weren't far now, but Gray didn't want to waste any time lest any lives be lost. After having been in the Avatar Guild for half a year, Gray knew exactly how driven they were by the idea of meeting Zeref.

"Training and going undercover," was the brisk reply was Natsu was given. The rosette frowned. They had only been reunited for ten minutes. What had he done to make Gray act so cold towards him?

"I've been training too!" Natsu said cheerfully, trying his hardest not to make it sound as forced as it was. "Maybe later we could have a brawl like we used to," he suggested. Gray did not turn around and simply acknowledged that he had heard with a grunt.

They rode a little longer in silence, when Gray spoke up.

"Malba is just ahead. Get ready to fight."

* * *

"We are victorious! Join me in a victory shout!" Erza shouted as she raised her sword to the sky, the battle with Avatar having finished. Everyone smiled pumped their fists in the air.

"Yeah!"

Their enthusiasm over, Natsu turned to Gray and grabbed onto his wrist. Gray glared coldly at him.

"What do you want?" he asked. Natsu couldn't take it anymore. He dragged Gray away from the others, intent on getting answers.

"Come with me."

* * *

They had only walked a few meters out of the others' earshot when Gray yanked his wrist out of Natsu's hold.

"Godamnit Natsu, what do you want?!" Gray demanded. Natsu's eyes narrowed dangerously at him.

"What do I want? _What do I want?!_ Fuck Gray, it's been a year since we've seen each other and you ask me 'what do I want'?!" Natsu took a step forward to close the gap between them. "I _missed_ _you_ , Gray."

However, his words did not have their intended effect when Gray snorted.

"It sure didn't seem like it." Natsu retracted the step that he had taken forward.

"What?" he asked incredulously. Gray crossed his arms over his chest and gave Natsu the frostiest glare yet.

"You left. Without telling me. Without saying goodbye." Natsu looked down guiltily.

"I know. I'm sorry. But I had to get stronger! I realized just how weak I was during our fight with Tartaros. I… I couldn't protect anything precious to me." Gray frowned.

"I know. And I respected your feelings and your space. But you weren't the only one who lost something in that battle, Natsu," he informed. Natsu looked up sharply.

"…What?" he whispered.

 _No… Gray… went through the same despair that I did?_

That was the last thing that he had ever wanted for his lover. Gray had already lost so much, Natsu wanted with all his heart to protect the raven from whatever fate had cruelly been bestowed upon him.

"I lost my father in that fight. Just like you did," Gray said softly. Natsu's eyes widened as he inched forward.

"Oh Gray I'm—"

"Stop. I don't want to hear it. I've already grieved for him… again." The word again struck a chord within Natsu and he couldn't hold himself back anymore as he wrapped his arms around Gray. Gray however, did not reciprocate the feeling. "Let go," he said flatly.

"I won't."

"Let me go, Natsu."

"Damnit Gray listen to me!" Gray angrily tore himself from Natsu's embrace, not wanting to put up with this situation.

"What do you have to say to me?! You _left me_ , Natsu! You left me alone after Tartaros! I get that you went off to train, but fuck you could've left a letter or a note or something! I thought—" Gray choked up as tears began to slide down his cheeks. "I thought that you hated me… that you broke up with me…" he sobbed. Natsu gulped. As much as he didn't want to admit it, it was not a completely farfetched thought. The last time they had seen each other, they had been fighting over the Book of E.N.D.. Coupled with Natsu's sudden disappearance and the lack of any talking or explanations, Gray was bound to have come to a conclusion like that.

"G-Gray, I—"

"I went home, you know," Gray sniffed as he kept his head down, his bangs covering his eyes.

Natsu inhaled sharply. "What?"

"I went home to my town in Isvan," Gray repeated. Natsu's eyes widened as he stared owlishly at the raven. He thought back to a conversation that he had once had with him.

* * *

 _"Hey Gray, would you ever go back to your hometown?" The raven visibly flinched and Natsu immediately regretted asking. Just as he was about to apologise for being insensitive Gray answered quietly,_

 _"Maybe. If… I ever felt the need to. If… I were ever upset or despaired enough to go back to the place where it all began… If I were ever lost enough to want to see my hometown again… then yes, I would."_

* * *

Natsu finally realized why Gray had been so cold to him when they had first met. He had abandoned Gray when he had needed him the most. Even if he had done it wanting to be able to protect him in the future, it was wrong of him to not have said a thing to his lover.

"I told myself," Gray began, "that you were off training. That you were grieving for Igneel. But I thought that you would come back and find me! That you would only leave for a couple of weeks! A month at most! You left for a _year_ , Natsu!" Gray angrily wiped the tears from his eyes as Natsu watched guiltily. "So I thought… I would go and train too. I left Magnolia in hopes of finding you and started training. Juvia found me and we lived together for a while." Natsu's teeth gnashed as the thought. He had already known, but hearing it from Gray again just made it hurt all the worse.

"Gray… I can't even apologise for how stupid I was. I'm so sorry," Natsu said sincerely. Gray continued rubbing his eyes with his forearm before looking up angrily. Tears still streamed from his eyes, but Gray didn't seem to care.

"You idiot!" he shouted. "You stupid Flame Brain!" Natsu smiled fondly.

"You finally called me by a nickname."

Gray's eyes widened as he realized it as well. Since they had met again, Gray had always address Natsu by his name. He hadn't used any of their endearing nicknames. Gray walked forward and reeled his fist back, slamming into Natsu's cheek. The Dragon Slayer fell back and landed on the ground, only to immediately sit up, his hand nursing his newly swollen cheek.

"What the hell?!" He didn't get any further than that when Gray pulled him into a hug, the raven's tears falling onto Natsu's clothes.

"When I saw you again in the hideout," Gray sobbed. "I wanted to hug you so badly! I wanted… I wanted to be able to touch you, to smell you, to _know_ whether or not this was over! I've been stuck with these stupid doubts and fears for a year and I wanted you to get rid of them!"

Natsu brought his hand to the back of Gray's head and pulled him closer, any gap that had existed between the two now gone.

"I would never break up with you, Gray and I could _never_ truly hate you."

Gray's eyes widened as he buried his head into the crook of Natsu's shoulder and cried, relieved that all the fears and doubts that had plagued his mind for a year were now washed away by Natsu's love.

"You idiot," he blubbered. "You absolute idiot!"

Natsu grinned. "I know. But I'm your idiot."

* * *

When Gray calmed down and pulled away from the hug, Natsu spoke what was on his mind.

"This past year… I've been training hard. To protect that which is precious to me. To protect the guild. To protect my friends. To protect _you_ , Gray. Every night, I would look up at the stars and remember you. I would think about you. About your face," he said as his hand moved up to cup Gray's cheek gently.

"Your eyes," he continued as he thumbed just underneath Gray's eyes.

"Your lips," he said as he brought his hand to Gray's lip and brushed over them softly.

"And your smile," he finished as Gray flushed bright red and jerked away from his lover. Natsu grinned before inching forward and continuing seriously,

"I know I was stupid when I didn't tell you anything before I left. It was really stupid of me. I was a real jerk. I don't deserve your forgiveness. But…" Natsu reached up to cup Gray's cheek lovingly. "Can you forgive me? For making you think that I broke up with you? For hurting you? For not contacting you?"

Gray stared wide eyed before finally turning his head and pressing his lips to Natsu's hand.

"Of course, Natsu. I love you."

Natsu sighed in relief as he inched closer, lips millimeters away form Gray's. "I love you too, Gray." With that, Natsu leaned forward and connected their lips.

The kiss did last long, a mere touch of the lips. Natsu pulled away and smiled.

"It's been a year. I've missed your kisses, Gray."

Gray smiled. "I've missed yours too, Natsu." The Dragon Slayer gave him a bright grin and reached down to grab Gray's hand. Kissing it, he said,

"Come on. Let's get back to the others. They're probably wondering why we're taking so long."

Gray smiled and tightened his grip on Natsu's hand. "Yeah."

* * *

 **I did have my own headcanons for this idea so I incorporated them a little bit. I can't see Gray happy after Natsu left for a year without telling anybody. So I started writing and one thing turned into another and this is the result.**

 **Anyway...**

 **IT'S DONE! This fic is officially complete! :) Thank you to everyone who sent in a prompt and everyone who reviewed/favourited/followed! You guys are awesome!**

 **If anyone is so inclined, I have another Natray story in the works called "All That's Left Are Ashes". The first chapter is already up so go check it out if you'd like!**

 **That's all from me! Thanks once again and I hope you've enjoyed "The Times After That"!**


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